Behind the Story
by SamAP
Summary: How would you feel if you had to leave everything you had so you can do everything you can to save it? How would you act if they said you had to leave the man who tries to tell you he loves you, in a matter of minutes? What if you lost it all? OP/OC
1. Chapter 1

_This here is my first story (beauty ain't it?) so please be nice. It has been rewritten but not that much. Just to the extent of filling plot-holes and such. Also, obviously there are more chapters now than last time so if you've reviewed here before the rewrite then your review may not make much sense on the chapter it was previously written on. I don't mind if you review again, that just makes everything peachy (and besides, I changed quite a lot in this story). I would hope that you all see me as a better writer (if you've read my other stories already) than what this depicts. If you're new then… howdy!_

_**Alter Ego:** Okay we get it, it's your first story! Can we read now?_

_**Me:** All right, all right, alter-ego-that-acts-as-my-readers._

_**Alter Ego:** Good, because your story looks really interesting *wink-wink* *nudge-nudge*_

_**Me:** Hold on! These people need to know what they are reading first!_

_**Alter Ego:** Okay, whatever. Just make it quick!_

_**Me:** Thank you. As the title says, this will show what happened behind the story. You may have seen the movie but have you ever wondered, "So who did all the dirty work? Surely these Autobots couldn't have done this without some help." Well, if you're looking for the answer to that, then you are in the right place._

_For those of you who came here to see smutty love stories, you might as well go away now (but please don't, my story is good, I swear it). For those who wanted to see romance, you may wanna wait until deeper into the story but don't give up just yet! It's worth it, promise!_

* * *

><p>My name? Sam Witwicky. Or to the jocks, That Kid. Things have been getting strange in this small town, despite its name, Tranquility. It began when that new girl started working at the rundown, old shop that still sells vinyls and twenty-pound phones. She scares me a little. Maybe because of her jumpy attitude or the way she seems to know more than I think.<p>

The clerk's a little… foreign… in a way. I use the term loosely because she's as strange as it gets. Like, this one time, I could've sworn I heard her chirping and whirring to herself, like some sort of mechanical whistle. Regardless, talking to her is fun. She kind of reminds me of the little sister that I've never had even though she's probably a couple years older than me. Not once in my seventeen years of life did I ever see so much naïveté wrapped up into one person.

Another word to describe her would be crazy. Seriously, where did they find this chick? Her imagination is so vast that it could possibly be real. I'm not complaining though. Because when you're in a depressing world, sometimes it's nice to have at least one person who has something positive to believe in, something to live for.

* * *

><p><strong>(Five months before)<strong>

Earth.

It's a big place much like our own planet, Cybertron. Though lately, I've almost forgotten what it looks like. We've been stuck on this ship for longer than I can count. How else could this be worse, you say? I'm the only femme on board.

Apparently, I've been moved out of my previous jurisdiction because I have so many skills. Want to know what I've calculated? The _big, strong _mechs had grunt work that needed to be done.

Somehow, I've landed a job as their scientist. It's a good gig, mostly because science comes easy to me and I've already worked my way up the ranks. In fact, I just said goodbye to my mentor for I didn't need him anymore. His name was Wheeljack, and I miss him like I miss having femmes around me.

For about a meta-cycle, I've been studying creatures commonly known as humans. That's thirteen months in Earth terms. Why do I drown myself in virtually useless knowledge about these beings that would easily perish under my foot? Because they are just too slagging interesting.

Humans are sentient with emotions that range farther than ours can. Not to mention, they are so weak and fragile yet their planet is covered in structures that could rival Cybertron's, and the humans had no help achieving that. They are intelligent but ignorant. As far as I know, they haven't a single clue that they're not alone in this universe.

In fact, if the rumors that the All Spark was being kept there are true, they probably wouldn't be able to know what to do with it yet still manage to make more out of it than what we ever did.

That was another reason why I was piled high with human research. The All Spark. Very recently, my boss received intel that there may have been All Spark radiation there, ergo the cube itself. Luckily, I was already studying that intriguing planet, so guess who immediately signed up for the job. That's right, me.

My comrades would often tease me about what they refer to as my obsession with those intricate forces of life.

"If you keep stressing yourself with these humans, you're going to become one," Jazz would often warn with his knowing smile and flashing visor. In this femme-less ship, he was one of the mechs I liked the most. He was a real gentle-mech that knew how to treat a femme correctly. My guess would be that he was the _only_ mech who knew how to treat a femme correctly. So you could see how easy it was for us to become friends.

"If you magically shrink to the size of my thumb and lose all your metal, don't come running to me and begging me to fix you," Ironhide would chuckle softly every now and then. He was the big-bad of our squad, the macho-mech, the one with all the guns. Some would say he doesn't have a central processor and would just shoot a 'Bot if they so much as look at him funny. Others would say he could care less about anyone and everyone, with the exception of our boss and his sparkmate. Oh yeah, and me, too.

Well, not that he'd ever admit it. Or show it for that matter. But underneath his iron hide—fitting, huh?—there's a gentle circuit-board that holds so much love that it's scary. Ironhide would quite literally kill for the ones he loves.

"Haha, you two are so fragging hilarious," I retorted sarcastically one day, "but when there's a crisis and you need my knowledge, take a wild guess at who's _not_ going to be there to assist your sorry, little afts."

"Oh yes, because one day, we're going to be trapped with a million humans and the only 'Bot who can save us from little beings that could fit beautifully under my foot is you," Ironhide snapped back, smirking after his sentence.

"Well, I—uh—Okay, that was a really good comeback," I grumbled, turning away from the two to focus on my work. There was no time for fighting now and quite frankly, I wasn't in the mood to hold a battle of wits. So there they were, giggling behind me in their short victory while I tried to revolutionize our world.

I've been working nonstop for… well, if I remember, I'd tell you. But my project was almost complete. It would help us connect with the rumors about the All Spark location. There was just one more piece that needed to be fit into place. Too bad I had no clue what it was.

The whole idea of what I was working on was to be able to transform into a human. 'Bots often said it would be impossible. Many even had the audacity to look down on me because I believed it would work. True, I could see where those others were coming from. There was such a big height difference, especially for me since I was at least twenty-eight feet tall. I'm pretty sure that I'm the only femme that's ever been that tall, and I can't really say I'm proud of it.

Okay, I was going to talk about this sooner or later, but I am pretty, as most would say, though I don't see it. It pains me to even think about talking self-righteously. Anyway, I have a fair build, one that was made for dodging and running, not really dealing blows and taking them. Luckily for me, my freakishly tall height compensates that, for many cower under me in thoughts that I may or may not crush them.

My armor is purple and not any of that fragile slag either. It was a deep, metallic, makes-you-want-to-stare-at-it-until-the-meaning-of-life-somehow-appears-in-it purple. I know what you're probably thinking right now. No, I'm not a Decepticon turned Autobot and no, I don't want to be a Decepticon. I've had purple armor ever since I was a little sparkling, and I just don't see the use of changing the color. There's an Autobot insignia right on my forehead and that's good enough for me.

Once I discover the missing piece to this crazy project, it wouldn't even matter anymore. I could shift into a human where they don't have distinct colors that determine who's good and who's bad. At least, I hope not. It's a big commitment, too. If I am going to download these techno-organic properties into my system, I _have_ to get rid of all my knowledge on how to transform into anything else. That way, extra metal would rid itself and then the size difference problem would be fixed. In a way, it's like being hollowed out.

Now don't worry, I'm not doing all this dangerous crazy stuff with no one caring. My younger brother doesn't want me doing this slag. He goes on and on about how erasing my memories is crazy and it will one day come back to bite me, but why should I listen to him? He's vorns younger than me.

Besides, my team _needs_ this information. I'm just taking a hit for them. I hate being the only one who hasn't done anything useful, in a sense of battles of course. Like I've said, I'm the grunt worker, filling up needed jobs wherever I can find them.

Maybe my boss is right, I have a lot of talent. So far, I've been a scout, law enforcer, researcher, maintenance worker, energon bringer, currently scientist, and soon to be inventor. The only other job I've been in and strived exceptionally is being a physical therapist. I got a fancy CMO title and all that jazz.

So, just who do you think is responsible for all this shifting? My boss, Optimus Prime. He's been reluctant to let me go through with this techno-organic stuff as well, for reasons that will make themselves apparent when the time comes… He's kind of my love interest.

I use that word loosely because, let's face it, that mech can't come to grips with his true feelings if it shoved a microphone in his face. Either way, I convinced him to let me do this. I just hope that the Decepticons haven't done anything to Earth as I continue with this project. So much time has passed and Optimus really hasn't been helping, what with his attempts at stalling me.

My mind shuffled quickly through all the worst case scenarios that resulted from Decepticons winning because of my inability to work fast enough. Then the thought of me turning into horrifying human/Cybertronian hybrids because I was working _too_ fast came to the front of my processor. Suddenly, a loud click echoed through my seemingly empty workspace. Sadly, it wasn't a click from me completing all this fragging work, it came from behind me.

The sound was easily shrugged off, but the second I turned my helm, I know I've made a mistake. A feisty but tiny Decepticon appeared out of nowhere, making a beeline for my work. There goes my paranoia.

The cannon in my arm instantaneously pops out, shooting for the little creeper. I feel like I know this mech from somewhere else but that really isn't important right now. What's important is the fact that I'm apparently a bad aim when it comes to small targets. This arm cannon has been with me since my creators deemed it worthy to protect myself, so trust me when I say I can shoot a bull's-eye in my recharge, but a scampering, little freak? I haven't the time to practice for something like that.

"Ironhide, it would be nice if you helped me!" I shouted while moving to protect my computer. A short scream ripped my vocals as the creepy, little 'Con attached itself to my face, only to jump off and plug into the console. Turning quickly, I ripped that sucker out and threw him at Ironhide. "He's your problem now," I grumbled, cycling air to cool down my systems.

The burly mech let the 'Con slip through his digits but chased him out, nevertheless. A couple others ran out of the room to check if there were anymore threats. I stayed behind to check my work. The little insect got some of the data but not enough to make me worry too much. Still, you never know with the 'Cons. They're a crafty bunch.

Which was why I double-checked everything once more. As suspected, all my files were there, comfy and cozy, even my missing piece.

It hit me, just like that. I had felt so stupid now that I knew the answer. Apparently, all I needed was a small distraction, quite literally at that. Now my plans to save our world are complete. Okay, maybe that's a bit more exaggeration than needed but hey, if you've been stuck behind a computer for much too long, your mind would wander, too.

When that final piece snapped into place, I knew something big and life-changing would happen.

"Oh Primus…" I whispered, "I've done it. Heh, I really did it." Disbelief crowded around me as my helm started to feel a bit light. A few comrades start to file back into our office space; I'm guessing that there was no threat outside.

"Hey, I gotta head out. Someone commed me so—," Jazz started but didn't finish as I attacked him with a hug. An incredible feat considering I'm more than twice his height. "Well, what is this?"

"I figured it out!" I exclaimed letting him go and gliding to my computer. "Do you know what this means, Jazz?"

"You'll stop whining about how impossible this project is?" he replied smugly.

"Mute it."

Over the course of a couple kliks, a small crowd encircled us, murmurs of congratulations and praise clouded my audios. But only one voice in particular stood out.

"Let us see it, then," he boomed, deep, baritone voice vibrating my entire structure. I turned around sharply, only to be met by a pair of deep, endlessly blue optics. It wouldn't be a lie if I said my frightened squeak embarrassed me a little.

"H-hey, Optimus," I whimpered, backing away slightly. We both knew what would happen if and when I had completed my design. It's been discussed many a time.

Apparently, his presence shocked me to the extent that someone had to actually push me out of my trance.

"Jazz!"

"I haven't all day, femme," he snapped back to me in the same, sharp whisper.

Shaking my helm, I turn to my monitor and type up a few commands. First, I have to erase my transformation knowledge. It was almost painful to have to part with something that has been with me all my life. Multiple gasps surrounded the area when they figured out what I was doing. The data was deleting itself out of my existence, and I felt instantly lighter as it took the unnecessary metal away with it. As relaxed as I felt, it was also very unsettling. It was almost like being amputated.

Out the old information went, and in went the new ones. The file I made was pretty hefty considering the fact that it was basically everything known to human kind and Earth customs.

"All right," I mutter to myself, "as the humans say, 'On with the show.'" My wrist port detached itself slowly and I stood straighter, preparing for the transformation sequence. I could feel other optics fixed on me while my own optics were offlined to prevent from anymore anxiety.

The sounds of whirs and clicks reverberated the area while a new sensation filled me. My senses dulled and transferred to other parts of my body, as if evening itself out. Gone was my keen hearing and vision but what took its place were sensitive nerves all over my body and a better sense of smell. The texture of my exterior felt so different, so vulnerable and bare. Probably the most uneasy difference was my height. The speed the transformation went made me feel dizzy enough to purge.

Hesitantly opening my optics, I can see that my skin looks gently kissed by the sun and that the long, drawn-out hair on my head was pitch black with soft streaks of purple and the occasional glint of metallic silver. It sent shivers up my spine as it brushed the small of my back.

"How do you feel?" Jazz asked me, kneeling down to become optic level.

"Exposed, nervous, cold… Superior," I chuckled, poking myself. "Humans are squishy." That's when everyone broke out into laughter and applause. All bore different emotions, but the only emotion that mattered to me was Optimus'. As I gazed up at him, he appeared very unreadable.

I'm going to have to talk to him.

He turned to leave, and as I tried to reach him, everyone bombarded me with questions.

Okay, so I'm going to have to talk to him _later._

* * *

><p>After finally taming the crowd, I walked out of the room, in bipedal mode of course. I spotted Optimus in the transparent atrium, looking over the ongoing whirlpool of stars. This talk wasn't going to be easy, but it was going to happen… painfully.<p>

"Optimus? May I have a word?" I said softly as I joined him. It was realized at that moment that my small, feminine voice was no match for his smooth baritone. Primus, I hated feeling so weak.

"Of course you may. You have completed your task, you are free to do anything. Why not take my left servo while you are being free?" he childishly whined, yet somehow he still kept his majestic composure. Of all the times Optimus had tried to get me to stay on the ship and not go on the recon mission to Earth, he's never tried this tactic… guilt.

"Please don't get mad at me. You know that you only had one 'Bot who could go on reconnaissance. This was a chance I—you had to take," I coughed awkwardly, trying to make it sound like this was what he wanted. Hey, when you're trapped in a cubicle like I am, you'd do the exact same thing.

Seeing that he was not going to respond willingly, I placed a servo on his shoulder, trying to make him see the intensity of my words.

"You know as well as I do that if there was another way, we'd take it. But if you're going to make me feel worse about this then the planning we've done will be all for nothing. This was inevitable," I said, sighing when he remained silent yet again. Tightening my grip slightly on his shoulder, I drop my servo, turning away in defeat. My feet started leading me out of the atrium in stony-cold quiet.

I stopped only to hear him shuffling around. Finally, Optimus came to his senses.

"Wait," he said gently, taking my wrist to pull me closer. I was in his arms, but because this is Optimus Prime we're talking about, I was at a respectable distance away from him. "Look, I know how this might appear to you but… you know what you mean to me. And…" He seemed to almost be in pain with this. Being the femme I am, I took major offense.

"If saying what's on your processor is hurting you, then I don't want you to keep thinking about it. Just let me go," I said, voice faltering to stifle the emotional torture this was causing me.

"No, wait," he stopped me with, grabbing me again as I had slipped from his grip. But this time, I was much closer. "Please hear me out." A warm hand trailed my face plates, forcing me to meet his optics. "Please?"

No answer came from me, only a soul-gazing glare and a small nod.

"Do not play this game with me," he murmured, still pressing against my cheek, to which I responded by curling into his touch. "You know just as well as I do exactly why this is hard for me."

Optimus was right. Being his subordinate for so long, we've gotten close, obviously. He's a Prime, which means that he doesn't place his affection willy-nilly. It's strict and calculated, much like battle plans. Then again, we've known each other since the early vorns of this war, all I can say about this is, it's about fragging time!

"I guess I should probably say this now before it is too late," he started.

"Yes… go on," I prodded, waiting for the magic words.

"We have been in this war together for so long and it is apparent that I—I…"

"Just say it and I promise I won't go on this recon trip."

"Are you positive?"

"Completely," I said, getting a little impatient now.

"Then, in that case, I—"

"Prime, we need her in here, it's important," Jazz interrupts at just the perfect time.

* * *

><p><em>Okay, I love you guys and all but I'm not even going to bother reading over these chapters because right now it's late and I'm tired. I'm just going to upload all of them and fix them later. K thx bai!<em>

**_~Don't be a stranger ;D_**


	2. Chapter 2

_So what do you think so far? You guys ready to handle another chapter? (Please say yes). Don't forget to review about the story please, please, please! If you are to like what I have, you must critic it *says in Russian accent*_

_**Alter Ego#2:** OMG! I totally love your story so far! The thing with Optimus, and the part where Jazz screws it up, ooh-ooh, and the part where she's all like 'Yeah, I turned into a human. So what?' That was AWESOME!_

_**Me:** Okay alter-ego-that-acts-as-a-squealing-fan. Thanks for your feedback... and your enthusiasm. Hey, by the way, where's your twin brother?_

_**Alter Ego#3:** Right here. What's it to you?_

_**Me:** Oh hey alter-ego-that-acts-as-a-negative-reader! How do you like my story so far?_

_**Alter Ego#3:** Puh-lease! It's horrible! First of all, you're not using enough robotic terms! They are after all, robots. Second, you're not keeping to the story line of which the movie was first based on, that would be the Transformers original comic book. And lastly, you call that imaginative writing? It's so dull that it couldn't even cut butter._

_**Me:** *tears up* Well. If that's... how you feel. Then that's your own opinion. I'm going to keep writing because it's fun. And also because there are people like Alter Ego#1 and 2 who really appreciate what I do. So ha! Go back to your corner where you hate on people because you have no life! Alter Ego#2? Would you like to deliver my following message?_

_**Alter Ego#2:** Holy cow! You're actually asking me to do this? Okay, okay. Ahem. **She does not own anything! Anything! Well... except for the people she made and part of the story line. But other than that, Nothing! Kay now, enjoy the readings!**_

* * *

><p>"Well, this is awkward," Jazz said, looking nervously at the both of us. Of course, he looked more frightened the second my metal-melting glare bore into him. "Um, sorry for ruining the moment and all, but this is really important. In case you've forgotten, the 'Cons have your research," he directs to me, "so we need to get you out of here <em>now<em> before anything bad happens."

"Of course, I'll get ready right away," I gritted through my teeth stiffly. Slowly detaching myself from the mech in front of me—which, by the way, ripped my spark in two—I stare the sharpest daggers I metaphorically have into Jazz. "How will I stay in contact?" I ask professionally, paying no mind to what I just left behind me.

"Well," Jazz started in an unusually unsteady tone, "since this is on a pretty short notice, you'll be hooked up to Ratchet so he can monitor your vitals."

"No one else?"

"Not yet." It suddenly hit me that this was killing him inside. The situation finally became apparent to me that I was leaving the comfort of my squad for a bunch of aliens in a joor or two.

Unfortunately, now that I was unnerved so quickly, the only thing I could say to make him feel better was, "So of all the 'Bots on this ship, I'm supposed to be able to talk to the most boring one here? The only things I'm going to hear are reports on my body that I already know?" After a few seconds of silence, my optics snapped to him. "I'm going to miss your voice so much."

To that he responded with a melancholy chuckle. "We will all miss you," he boomed proudly, "and not just because you're the only femme here." Jazz spoke the next part in a hushed tone as he began slowly ushering me into the next room. "I know a certain Prime is going to miss you as well."

I bent down to laugh and hug him. One, because he's just an overall amazing friend, two, so I could make Optimus jealous. Believe it or not, he's never successfully hugged me before. And three, so I could whisper into Jazz's audio, "Make him suffer."

"As usual." The small mech stepped into the room, me trailing behind when something grabbed my upper-arm.

"Wait, I have yet to tell you—," Optimus started, only to be stopped by my finger. I brushed off his servo and gave him a sad smile.

"We don't have any more time for games, Optimus. Goodbye." As I retreated into the med bay, I heard a confident whisper behind me.

"I will make time."

The second I set foot into the death trap Ratchet calls his medical bay, I'm pushed and pulled in many different directions. Colorful—and slightly painful—tubes plugged into me, all varying in size, shape, and function.

Apparently, there was no time for saying "Goodbye" to anyone. When Jazz said I had to go now, he really meant _now_. A few 'Bots come in and wish me luck, telling me that I will be missed, the usual departure message. Only when a certain, bright-yellow mech stepped in do I feel punched in the gut for leaving.

"Hey, Honeybee," I whispered softly to my younger brother, "I always thought you'd be the one getting hooked up to these machines on your way to exploring a new world." The grimness in my voice goes very much noticed as Bumblebee drops his antennae in depression.

"Don't be sad, I'll be back soon, all right?" I said, trying to cheer him up. Of course, being the youngling he is, Bumblebee instantly straightened and puffed out his chest, showing me that he could hold down the fort in my absence. "Okay, I get it, you'll do just fine without me. Primus, I'm going to miss you." I leaned in to hug him but get magically caught in all the slag Ratchet tied me up with. My optics darted to the mech in question and I wore the expression of annoyance. The medic remained ignorant.

"It's okay, sis. Ratchet just swallowed a lug nut this morning and he's been whining about it ever since," Bee whirs and clicks. Somehow, we've made up this fascinating new language that only he can speak and only I can hear. Our medic said it was probably because we have the same genetic coding and because his vocals bust so many times that I've become accustomed to what each chirp represents. I say it's a miracle.

Bumblebee and I grew with a messed up childhood, but at least that taught us to be strong. Our creators died when I was a youngling like Bee is now. If anyone could have worse timing than them, then it should be a crime. Of course, I've inherited that trait, as you can see here.

Bumblebee got the weak vocal chords that break at the most convenient times. Very recently, although, he got into a scuffle with Soundwave, one of the higher-up 'Cons, on a scouting trip and now his vocals are more or less stuck like that.

"I wouldn't talk about me in your creepy, sibling language if I were you," Ratchet grumbled, threateningly waiving a wrench.

"Ratchet, you wouldn't dare throw that wrench at me, now would you?" I asked, acting completely offended. He just grumbled at me, turning back to his monitor.

"Stupid sparklings," he mumbled quietly.

"Sparklings? Ratchet, I know you're old but you're not _that_ much older than me," I scoffed.

"At least I act my age," he snapped back, looking pleased with his rebuttal.

"Says the mech who's yelling at a femme about how much better he is than her." That was it, case closed, I won. Ratchet looked like he was going to bark out an insult but instead he just sighs.

"I just worry, okay," he breathed out, surprising both me and Bumblebee with his sincerity. This fact couldn't be more of a truth than anything that Ratchet has said in his entire life. I don't know how or why it happened, but Ratchet had always been an adair-figure to me—or in human terms—a father-figure. In turn, he sees me as his daughter… his _helpless_ daughter.

I never minded this relationship, mostly because it helped me get through the tough and confusing times of war. Ratchet was my mentor and someone I could easily depend on, even if he never showed it.

"Hey," I started softly, trying to get his attention. "Hey, Ratch," I said again, gaining his concentration this time, "don't worry. You know who you're talking to, right? I've been through so much slag, I'm desensitized… I'll be fine."

"For all our sakes, I hope so," Ratchet murmured.

"Don't be so sad right now. I can't have my last memory of you being all grumpy. I have enough of those memories," I tried, hoping for some positive feedback.

"If you think I'm going to smile just because you ask me to, you might as well leave the med bay now," he responded turning to face away from us. Ratchet was probably smiling now. He hit a button that retracted most of the wires connected to me. A particularly thick wire was still connected and Ratchet yanked that one right out, forcing me to wince.

"You're done, leave," he said in his gruff voice, hiding in a charade.

"Ratchet, I'm going to be away for a long time. Primus only knows if I'm coming back. Do you really want those to be your last words?" I asked in such a way that he really needed to think about it. The medic looked down on me, his optics softer than I've ever seen.

"Yes, get out of my med bay. You've got a pod waiting for you," he snapped roughly. Underneath his aloof façade, he cared. He cared enough to walk me to my transport pod.

I suddenly started to feel hesitant. My systems were heating up yet I was freezing cold. Maybe Ratchet was right, maybe I _am_ just a sparkling, a sparkling getting ready to go on a life threatening mission.

"Bye, Honeybee." The words slip out sadly from my vocals as I kneel down to hug my brother with all the love I have. With one last glance at Ratchet, I move to hug him as well. Ignored went his silent complaints. After a few astroseconds, he finally accepts the gesture and returns it.

"Stay safe," was his last say to me. I duck into the awaiting pod, preparing to be cramped for a long period of time. As the door shuts, familiar faces crowd around and my spark feels like its ripping itself into shreds with every broken spark out there.

Why was I so sad? This was it, my dream to finally make a difference for the Autobot cause, to explore the human race, it was all coming true. With that wave of confidence, I looked out the small, circular window and sighed.

"Goodbye, everyone."

"Except Ratchet," buzzed a voice in my audio.

"Except Ratchet," I reiterated.

"You good in there, femme?" he asked me, obviously checking readings and such.

"If I say no, will you do anything about it?"

"Unless it is fatal… no."

Yep, that's the Ratchet I know and love.

"All right, I'll count you down and talk you every step of the way—"

"I built this pod, Ratchet, I think I should know what I'm doing," I say just to mess with him.

"Hush femme, I'm talking. You have an emergency supply of energon, but you shouldn't need it. I'm going to assume that you have enough energon in you to last the entire mission. That won't be a problem, though because energon readings have been detected on Earth as well," he explained.

"So, bottom line, I won't run out and stasis lock myself," I clarified.

"Well if you want to make it sound dumber…" he muttered. "Anyway, you're the techno-organic, you should know about your limitations. I placed a miniaturized data-pad in there for you to log your observations."

"Got it. Anything else?" A small pause ensued as I could tell Ratchet was gathering his thoughts.

"Good luck out there, soldier," he spoke warmly.

"Soldier," I whispered the word, feeling how foreign it was on my vocals. "Never been called that before," I mused faintly.

"You are going on an intergalactic mission, I think you are deserving of the title," he affirmed, an obvious smile in his tone.

"Good luck getting Optimus to agree with that," I chuckled wryly. In a few seconds, the countdown started and a fresh wave of nerves hit me. My paranoia would've acted up if it wasn't overwhelmed by this odd sensation.

"3… 2… 1… And you're off." The pod shook a little before shooting out into the depths of space. The coordinates were already set so I didn't need to do much except sit back and wait. After a little while, Ratchet spoke to me again.

"So everything seems fine from this end. Both your vitals and the pod's are fine so you should arrive a little under half an orn. Do you know the details of your mission?" he asked me, sounding completely calm.

"Nope. I just know that I need to be on Earth and look for the All Spark," I said simply. An annoyed sigh passed through the comm..

"Do you know _how_ to find the All Spark?" Ratchet grumbled, holding back the need to bite my head off, seeing as how I was already pretty far away.

"Huh, I guess that would be a good thing to know. But in my defense, I wasn't the one who decided to leave _now_," I returned, keeping a level-headed composure.

"Fine, so you just need to look for—Frag it, what was that?" he yelled, making me jump in my little cabin.

"Ratch, are you all right?"

"You just need to look for—!" he hollered quickly but was unable to finish.

"Ratchet? Ratchet, talk to me, mech!" I demand, getting nothing but static in return. "Fragging slagger."

* * *

><p><em>Good? Bad? Slow? Fast? Tell me, my friends! Tell me via le review button! P.S. The story gets better so you should read on. The next chapter is right there. Go on. I'm not stopping you… Take your time…<em>

**_~Don't be a stranger ;D_**


	3. Chapter 3

_Here's le new chapter! See look at it, it's so nice and shiny… *sigh* Ahem. I—uh—I mean that—I—um… *cough* Just read the witty banter._

_**Alter Ego#2:**__ OMG, OMG, OMG! A new chapter! Ahhhh!_

_**Me:**__ Um. Thank… you? Let's try to channel some of your awesomeness into a small outlet._

_**Alter Ego#2:**__ How do I do that? I'm too energetic! SUGAR!_

_**Me:**__ Hmm. Maybe you should hang around your twin more. It might balance the both of you out. Is he still in his corner?_

_**Alter Ego#3:**__ No! Stupid. I don't wanna listen to you because I hate what you do!_

_**Me:**__ Ouch. Yeah #2, you need to give him a major hug. Like ASAP._

_**Alter Ego#2:**__ OMG like, okay. Totally! Come here bro!_

_*violently squeezes the life out of her brother*_

_**Alter Ego#3:**__ Gah! Get her away from me! Ewww!_

_**Me:**__ It's okay, at least here at Sammy's Studio we're bringing siblings closer together ;D._

_**Alter Ego:**__ Hahah… su-u-ure. Can I say the disclaimer today?_

_**Me:**__ Go crazy! Wait, not too crazy, like #2. It was just an expression. Please don't lose your insanity. Please._

_**Alter Ego:**__ Heheh maybe. __**Anyway, our creator created only most of the story line and her OC's. Also her alter egos. She owns not of Transformers. Kay-doodles! Enjoy now!**_

* * *

><p>Empty kliks passed by as the only sound present were crackles and more static. Miraculously, Ratchet managed to contact me once more, though it came across very foggy.<p>

"Don't worry… Stay calm… Remem…member my instructions… Remember your mis…sion… Find Samuel Witwicky…! GET THE GLA—!" That was the last I heard from him. It sounded like he was in a fight for there were sounds of gunshots and scuffles behind his words. Please let everyone be safe.

In the meantime, I'll just stay calm. Ratchet said stay calm so I'll stay calm. Just cycle my vents… and stay… ca-a-alm.

So, apparently I have a calmness deficiency. In fact, I freaked out inside that cabin. My digits flipped through every button, lever, and switch just to try to get Ratchet back online. I could have stopped the coordinates punched into the pod's mainframe, but I was already too far away to find my way back. Despite the aircraft's size, it traveled at amazing speeds.

"This is wrong, this is so wrong," I muttered to myself. "What a fragging perfect image to leave me with!" I yelled at my medic, knowing that he can't possibly hear me. What happened to him? To the others? To Bumblebee?

To Optimus?

"No, I can't think like that. Stop it, femme, I have a mission to complete," I whisper sternly to myself. I need to find this Samuel Witwicky. I need to find him and then the All Spark. For some reason, this thought keeps me sane. The name Samuel Witwicky is slowly becoming a comforting word. As long as I'm near this human, I'll be safe.

As I was cruising to my destination, I felt that something wasn't right… like I wasn't alone. The vitals screen was pulled down in front of me as I double-checked the pod. Nothing was wrong. My security camera showed nothing in my immediate surroundings. I shouldn't worry, I mean, how easy is it for someone to stalk you in space, right?

* * *

><p>So, I more or less lived in that cramped little pod for about half an orn, at least four days in human terms. Touchdown couldn't have come soon enough. As I entered the atmosphere, the heat blazing from the exterior of my pod barely touched me at all. I would've kept my optics opened, but I didn't want to see myself face plant into the terrain. Yet through my offlined optics, I could sense the blazing colors dancing around the notched metal. The closer I was to the ground, the tighter I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth.<p>

Impact went better than expected. My pod absorbed the shock and the mechanism I designed to make sure I didn't die released. Basically, the pod was in two distinct parts, the outer shell and inner cabin. The cabin was like a greased marble so when the outer shell hit land, the cabin would spin around instead of following the direction of force.

And it was that type of thinking that landed me a job as a researcher.

Once the spinning stopped, I shifted down to my human form—Primus, I'm never going to get used to saying that—and stepped up to grabbed the mini data-pad. It was then that I realized how small I currently was and how big I usually am. It was a crazy epiphany that made my head swim.

Seeing as how I was apparently naked by human standards, I first had to find some clothing. Before leaving, my pod obviously had to be concealed. A couple buttons were pushed, and the pod shifted down to a condensed rectangle. It was still about fifteen feet tall so that didn't help me much.

"Great, a huge rectangle in the middle of a field… subtle," I mused sarcastically to myself. The data-pad in my hand is about the size of my thigh and is a little on the heavy size. "Also very subtle. Just as subtle as a women standing naked next to a giant, metal box."

Unfortunately, I had to leave my pod here, considering I couldn't exactly lift it around. Consequently, that meant I had to abandon my emergency energon supply. The only good thing was that this was a problem I could solve. Taking the data-pad in my hands, I snapped it in half, transforming one piece into a beacon and the other into an even smaller mini data-pad. At least now it was the size of my head.

And so began my journey.

"Goodbye, large obstruction that will gain attention soon," I bid to my rectangle, watching as it got smaller with every step I took, "I hope to see you again." It was nighttime right now, wherever I was. The place I was at seemed quiet enough. A little run down if you ask me. Stray sheets of newspaper littered the muddy, puddle-filled road as well as some of the brick buildings around here. If it weren't for the moon and the immense litter of stars, I would have been lost in the dark. The occasional porch light from local businesses flickered with hope every now and then.

I was walking down an old, asphalt road, looking for a place to get some clothes, or at least scan some clothes. But a small Jeep honking its horn behind me decided that I should have other plans.

"Hey lady, you lost?" the driver called out with a sick smile. He looked dirty with greasy stains all over his shirt and slick hair. By my installed knowledge, I understood his language, Japanese.

"You want a ride with us? We can make your time worthwhile," his friend who was as equally disgusting said. This one wore a ripped, white, wife beater tank top. Well, it _was_ white.

"Um, no, thank you. I'm fine," I responded, cursing the few clicks that sauntered around my influent Japanese. Ignoring whatever they decided to make of my reply, I began walking forward with a hint of speed in my skip.

"I think she needs help, don't you?" the driver questioned his friend.

"We should give her a lift, just in case," he replied with a mischievous tone.

I took that as my cue to start running. The broken road made the flesh on my feet raw with scratches and small wounds. I thanked Primus that it was badly lit outside because that seemed to help me lose my offenders. No matter how fast I tried to run, it was inevitable that they would catch up to me.

There were many alleyways to my left, the field being on my right. I decided to turn into one, hoping that it wasn't a dead end. Boy was I wrong. My optics whirred audibly as it dilated in fear. A huge, unforgiving wall seemed to sprout from the rodent infested ground, trapping me in that alley just to hear my screams of pain. I turned at the sound of an engine pulling up and ultimately dying. If hoped and prayed heavily in that split klik that this Jeep was actually a stray Autobot who found refuge in this twisted planet. That was stupid, no one was going to swoop in to save the day. This wasn't going to end pretty.

"You know you shouldn't run away from home in the dark," the revolting driver purred, making shivers run down my spine, not in a good way either. The two stepped down from the car, crawling closer to me. No amount of backing up would help as the cold, damp grime from the building behind me made contact to my overly sensitive body. I scowled at the chilling wind which was making this all the worse.

The driver reached for me, hovering over my quivering self. He used his grubby hand to brush the hair that fell between us and to caress my cheek. My chest was heaving against him with every stinging breath I took. Options, options, I need options.

"It's okay, lady. I won't hurt you… much," he chuckled darkly.

"No," I said, a random wave of defiance washing over me. I finally settled on an option and it was not letting two humans over power me now. I just got started with this whole alien thing. "But I might." With that, my hands tighten their grip on the data-pad and whacked the man in the face. He fell to the ground unconscious as his lackey ran up to me. I took a quick scan of the fallen fellow; no brain damage, mild concussion, poor skeletal build, and an unhealthy amount of infectious bacteria.

"You're gonna regret doing that, woman," he growled. I scanned this human, too. He had a vitamin C deficiency and was malnourished. My trusty weapon clipped him in the same manner as the first man with no remorse, despite their primitive health conditions. As the successful sound of a thud graced my ears, I hopped over the pile of knocked-out men and traveled to their car, searching hopefully if they had clothes or anything of use to me.

It was damp in there, a nauseating aroma of sweat and urine swirling around my head, almost making me purge from the ferocity of it. Gasping dramatically at the fresher air, I held my breath until I found something worthwhile.

"A magazine, close enough," I murmured, flipping to a random page and scanning the girl there. Immediately, I could feel the soft fabric wrapping itself around me. The friction of it all was still very new to me and I wondered how humans were so accustomed to this. A feather-soft, purple hoodie donned my torso as loose, pleated, gray shorts protected my bottom half. A pair of supported, running shoes welcomed my presence as it swallowed my feet. Probably the best thing I have right now.

"New journal entry," I narrated to myself, tapping the appropriate buttons on my data-pad, "Clothing is very substantial to human life. It offers protection against the elements… and fends off disgusting weirdos that want nothing more than… Okay, I think my point's been made." The data-pad goes back tucked under my arm.

And on I went. After a few minutes of wandering, I see a small library. Inside were a few computers just sitting there, waiting for me to unlock their full potential. Stepping inside, I grimaced at how primal everything was. Their computers were no match for my data-pad alone, but now wasn't the time to waste blessings.

I found the boy Ratchet was talking about fairly easily. Samuel Witwicky was in America, just across the ocean. Next, I began to print out my new identity. If I was going to blend into society, might as well have proof to back that up.

I decided to keep my first name, despite how odd it might sound compared to the other humans'. But it was something I was proud of so I didn't want to just discard it. With that being said, the name etched beautifully on my passport was Miss Nova Marx; twenty-two years old.

After my business there was done, I was off once more. Japan was actually kind of peaceful, if you ignore the thugs lurking at every crusty corner. That got me thinking, why did those two jump me? I mean, sure it's pretty hard to resist a nude woman alone in the streets, any male or mech couldn't deny. I still didn't get what they saw in me.

Stopping next to a shop, I viewed my reflection in the window. According to human statistics, I was the standard build for a Caucasian female. The only thing out of the ordinary was my height. Even if I appeared human, I was still freakishly tall. At least I didn't look lanky, proportionate was a better word.

"Excuse me, miss? Can I help you?" a man from inside the shop asked. My optics quickly glance to the sign of the business and learn that it's a martial arts studio.

"Hmm, martial arts… I've been meaning to learn that," I mutter to myself.

"What was that?" he questioned.

"Oh, um, I know it's kind of late but, do you have any classes tomorrow… or places to stay?" I ask hopefully, the last part was kept more to myself.

"Apologies but there are no classes now. The school is currently being… um… renovated. The repairs are currently indefinite," he answered, sounding skeptical about the words flowing out of his mouth.

"Oh, okay," I let out dejectedly. "Wait, um…" I started, unsure of what I'm about to say. "Do… Do you have a spare room? Or a place for me to stay? I'm terribly lost and I just need some time to get back on my feet."

He stares me down for a while, as if picking my personality apart. I could practically _feel_ him probing my mind.

"Who sent you?" he snarled, secretly clenching his fists.

"No one sent me," I answered sincerely, "Look, I'm… _alien_… to these parts of the world. I have a task at hand which must be accomplished in America, where I'm headed. I've already wasted precious time that I don't have, so if you're not going to help me, I'll just be on my way."

"Wait, no!" he blurted, stopping me in my tracks. "You are going to America? Please let me join you. I… I have a spare room." There's obvious apprehension in his answer. Something was definitely being hidden from me. "Please forgive my abrupt plea but consider my request. I have many services to offer. Protection, shelter, knowledge… money. It is apparent that you have nothing but that… whatever it is in your hand."

Now it was my turn to stare him down. His eyes connected with mine, showing me his hope through the bright brown orbs that begged me for help. The color was so crisp and outlined, it was hypnotic. I had a hard time actually thinking about what to do.

"What do you want from me?" I asked slowly, basing my opinions off of how he would answer that.

"I just need help. I need someone to guide me as I would you. _Isn't_ that what you need?" he answered truthfully.

I considered this offer. Perhaps he was correct. Maybe I _did_ need his help. I barely got out of the scuffle I was just in, who knows what other dangers are out there. I don't know this world, but he's been living in it. My mind was set.

"Fine, you're with me now. But if you give me reason to think that you can't handle what I go through—"

"I won't," he quickly interrupted. "Thank you so much, Miss… um… I'm sorry, I haven't gotten your name. I am Riku."

"Nova, it's nice to make your acquaintance, Riku," I responded as gracefully as I can, trying to hide the fears that were crawling in my mind. How the frag did I let this man go on a potentially life threatening mission so easily with me? I didn't even know his name! Riku's presence could bring so much danger to himself.

To me.

"Please come in. The room is upstairs. How soon are we able to leave?" he inquired, leading me past the worn-down mats in the main studio to the stairs hidden by a paper screen.

"You said that you were doing some renovations in the studio," I comment quietly, "It looks fine to me."

"Oh, um… you see, the—uh—renovations are being done to the… water lines. Yes, the water lines," he quickly, and obviously, lied. I decided to let it slide, considering that it really wasn't my business to be in.

Riku offered me some food but I had to decline. I may be a techno-organic, but I still don't know the effects of a foreign object in my system.

The room I was ushered to looked like someone was still living there. It wasn't what a spare room should have been like, at least, not from what I know. There were clothes folded neatly on a table and frames with pictures of people on them. I figured these were photos of his family. There was definitely something he was hiding from me.

"How could you do this, Nova?" I asked myself, barely making an audible whisper. "You can't endanger his life like this. Frag it, he has a family," I whimpered. He can't stay with me. He _won't_. It was decided that as soon as I could, I would leave him. I'd find a safe place and drop him off there. "Primus, I'm a horrible femme."

A couple hours passed by and I just couldn't recharge. Figuring that I probably wouldn't recharge anyway, I got up, treading lightly. If I was going to be awake, then I'd find something to do. Looking down at my data-pad, a few buttons were tapped until a screen showed me the homing beacon to where my huge metal rectangle was.

I got up, cursing the creaks of the floorboards. Slowly, stealthily, I creeped my way down, slithering around every bend of the house. The only thing I could hear was the disgruntled breathing of a human in a deep slumber. What troubled this man greatly? What has he gone through that his last option was running away with me? What was his story?

Ignoring my rapidly accumulating questions, I flew soundlessly down the stairs, swimming past the dusty mats and through the door. The old, chipped, washed away road welcomed me, seemingly more peaceful than when we first met. The directions were already implanted in my processor and all I needed to do was let my feet take me where they would.

Along the way, I saw a broken shop, complete with wooden boards and a condemned sign. The store was a place that used to sell leather goods. I peeked inside and spotted that there were still merchandise on what you could barely call a rack.

"Oh, this is wrong," I thought out loud, debating on what I should do. "But I need supplies." My hands quickly worked at a couple boards at the door. Only two, wide planks needed to be removed in order for me to slink through. A simple, brown, leather bag with a long, thin strap quickly found its way to my arms.

"I'm a thief. I'm a liar and a thief," I repeat, each word bearing guilt in bucketfuls. Despite how different this bag felt compared with the rest of me, my data-pad slipped in easily, like it's meant to be there. The beacon was getting closer with every step I took. I was practically leaping already, trying to get to my destination faster.

Once I saw the familiar glyphs and curves that represented what was left of my home, I started climbing to the top, where a port could easily be opened. The top was halfway there, my bag bumping against my legs with every step. I was thankful that Cybertronian metal naturally had so many glyphs embedded in it. This makes for easy climbing.

"What are you doing?" a sharp, loud voice spoke, breaking the still air like a whip cracking. This new voice resulted in me yelping and falling backwards. The only thing breaking my fall was a pair of strong arms gripping me at the last possible moment.

My heart was hammering, ready to explode right out of my chest. A powerful glare was set in my optics, burning a hole straight through both my offender and my defender's head.

"I… uh, found something here a while ago. I just wanted to come back," I explained, catching my breath. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving you."

Yet.

These humans were so on edge. They're as skeptical as Ironhide is and that is really saying something.

At that instant, about a million memories popped up to the front of my mind, bringing heavy pangs of nostalgia. A tear dared to drop out of my optic at the thought of my friends so far away.

"Nova?"

"I need to get up there," I answered quietly, coldly, removing the subject as best I could. I haven't even noticed that his arms were still positioned to carry me, but when he noticed, a brush of bright red dusted his cheeks. It was such an innocent human gesture which made me smirk a little.

Riku helped me climb up the large rectangle, getting up as well. He paused to observe the large thing and how it glowed randomly. His fingers trailed over the grooves and catches on it, entranced by its intricacy to be something so simplistic.

"Is this yours?" he asked me, snapping my reverie to reality.

"N-no, like I said, I just found it." A small silence passed before I spoke again. "Remember when you said that I probably came here with nothing. That's not entirely true. I, um, found a hatch in this thing and it looked safe enough. Since we're leaving, I thought I'd just get my things back." It almost hurt me to know that I could lie this easily albeit horribly.

My fingers traveled to a certain release and the second it sensed my signature, it opened up. Making sure Riku couldn't see what I was doing, I grabbed a few cubes of energon. There really wasn't enough room in my bag for all of it.

I had to dig around for a bit seeing that some of the cubes were sloppily filled.

"Who the frag filled these cubes?" I grumbled quietly to myself. It suddenly hit me that I knew who filled these cubes. "Oh Primus, Bumblebee." It had his name written all over it. Honeybee never waited until the cube was full. As long as it was adequately filled, he was fine.

This time, not only did one tear drop, a whole river began to flow.

"That idiot could've gotten me killed," I sobbed quietly, longing for my little brother.

"Nova, are you okay?" Riku asked with such a simple voice. It amazed me the amount of care humans had. He barely knew me and yet here Riku was, crawling closer to comfort me.

"I-I'm fine. It's… it's nothing," I tried to laugh out. A sad smile just graced my face, the warm drops of emotion still breaking out of the jail known as my optics.

"Shh, shh, I'm sure it's nothing," he reiterated, brushing the hair out of my face. I felt a gentle hand take me in and it wasn't long before I figured that I was crying in his arms.

I just didn't get it. Why was he doing this? Back on Cybertron, any stranger you found was just that, a stranger. Everything was always so tense if you didn't know someone back there, yet here, with at least six billion people on this planet, each one of those people had such a great capability to love.

We just sat there, under the shower of stars that shown so brightly in this spot, for a long time. Sometime during the night, I find that I had dozed off and we were laying on the rectangle. He was awake, watching the complexity of the world, while I was just waking up.

It's a pathetic feeling to know that I just cried myself to sleep.

My body was curled up against him, his chest substituting as my pillow. Riku felt me stirring and turned to look down on me.

"Shh, everything is fine," he whispered in a way that made everything right in the world. "Go back to sleep."

I followed his orders with no hesitation, letting the lids on my optics flutter shut. Despite the fact that I was probably already in a deep sleep, I could've sworn a felt a warm kiss on the top of my head.

* * *

><p><em>~Don't be a stranger ;D<em>


	4. Chapter 4

In the morning, I stretched onto the soft mattress underneath me, burying myself deeper into the blanket that served to warm me. My optics shot open, scanning the room I was in. It was Riku's spare room. Did he really carry me all that way? How the frag did he get me down the cube?

Stumbling out of the comforting bed, its warm tentacles trying to keep me in, I grabbed my bag and slung it over my head, slipping my shoes on and moving to find Riku. He was located in the kitchen, looking unhealthily fidgety.

"Eat up, we have a long journey ahead and unfortunately, most of it will have to be on foot," he explains, unintentionally shoving a bowl of what I conclude are noodles in my hand. I glare at the foreign substance in my hand, wary of its effects. Hesitantly, I take a small portion, waiting for my body's reaction.

Best… food… ever.

After realizing that I've been gawking at my bowl, I quickly shove some more in my mouth as my attention turns to the edgy man in front of me.

"Are you okay?" I asked Riku to release the tension. He was awfully pale this morning, eyes darting around as if someone was sent to kill him.

"Y-yes, of course." He began tapping his free hand onto the table nervously. The sound became louder and faster with every passing second before his hand slammed onto the small wooden table, startling me. "I hope you don't mind if we hasten our pace. W-we… um… need to leave soon."

"Oh, uh, sure," I sputter out, trying to keep up with his speed. To reinforce my statement, I gulp down the rest of my food and got ready to leave. He had a backpack with which he filled with a few water bottles and who knows what else.

"Let's go to America."

* * *

><p>We've been traveling for a few weeks now, catching a ride wherever we could. Some days we run to hide inside a cargo train. Other days we climb onto large buses and hide from sight. Either way, we were determined not to spend all our money.<p>

For now, we were walking down a dirt path, the sun taking mercy on our goal and hiding itself behind massive clouds. Along the way, I couldn't help but ask questions. A _lot_ of questions.

Some were simple like, "Why were there so many words for one word?" or, "Why did certain things happen?" He would usually chuckle softly at my question and answer anyway. I can't help but get the feeling that he thinks I'm more _foreign_ than I let on.

This next question that I asked, although, definitely got a new reaction out of him.

"Riku? Why did you leave?" He was silent for a while, obviously thinking about his answer.

"Why did _you_ leave?" he asked me, trying to shift the attention.

"No fair, I asked you first," I giggled playfully, tracing the intricate pattern he had on the back of his jacket. I've been doing that for a while, but he didn't mind. His backpack was being carried by me for the time being.

"All right, you were going to find out sooner or later," he sighed, slowing down in his walking. "The truth is, I'm running away from home," Riku confided sincerely. I kept listening to him, still tracing the pattern that I've come to memorize. "I know that I could've left if I wanted to but there was nowhere to go. Not only that but what good would it do?"

I've read stories about people who ran away from home, how they did it because something was wrong in the household or they thought better could be accomplished if they left. Then again, those were just stories.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not like I hate my parents. In fact, I did this for them. We're broke, Nova. Our school wasn't being renovated, it was being repossessed. The government sent us a letter telling us we had to vacate our home as soon as we could." He paused for a moment, gathering himself. "And when you showed up, I knew it had to be some sort of sign. I _needed_ to do something about this. Every night, I think about how heartbroken my family must be right now, but then I remind myself that this is a chance I need to take. This is for them."

I stopped walking, Riku following suit when he noticed that I was no longer trailing behind him.

"You… you left for love?" I asked, intrigued that his story was parallel to mine. My head was tilted in such a way that he chuckled softly from my obvious innocence.

"Yes, I did. It was the most painful thing I've ever done. But… I just couldn't stand to see them so helpless, in tears every time we'd get an eviction notice. I made a vow that my absence will not be in vain," he answered confidently, so focused on his goal, as I should have been.

Now it was my turn to comfort him. Giving one of my famous hugs, I pressed close to him, tracing the pattern that has been burned into my brain on his back. I could feel his heart beating against my reproduction of one, something that reminded me just how much these humans could feel.

"I left for love, too," I whisper silently in his ear, not wanting to let go. It felt as if the entire universe just stopped, letting everything revolve around us for a moment.

"Small world," he breathed back. I could feel the small smile on his face as the corners of his mouth brushed up against my ear, tickling me slightly.

"You don't know the half of it," I smirked in reply, wanting to stay in this moment forever.

"Maybe you can show me," he said seriously, arms dropping to rest respectively at my hips. Riku pulled away to look at my purple optics, unaware that he was gazing at a twenty-eight foot robot.

I recalled the day he asked about my optics. My excuse was genetics. I told him how it made people uneasy around me back home.

But he didn't care right now. Riku just kept staring into them, reading my thoughts. Then he leaned in, the heat from his forehead radiating onto me. I felt a few fingers lift my face closer to his and slowly, our lips connected.

It was hesitant at first, experimental almost, like he was checking to see if I was okay with this. But I wasn't… I wasn't okay with the fact that his lips were _only_ feather-light on mine. So obviously I needed to lean in, too.

It was like a cold wind blown me off my feet before I began to heat up. It was such a good feeling, having someone who cared about me, and I him, share such a tender moment.

This human—a _human_—managed to do what Optimus has failed to do for many millennia in only a matter of a month and a half. Wait, Optimus… His image flooded the forefront of my mind. I forgot him! Why did I forget him? _How _did I forget him? My lips fell off of Riku's once those thoughts invaded me.

"I-I-I'm sorry," I whimper, looking away, "I can't—This isn't—," I started, still in his strong grasp, but he cut me off.

"There's someone else, isn't there? I understand, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," he said in such a dejected tone, letting go of my waist at the same time. I longed for him to warm me again, to give me that comfortable feeling he did just a second ago.

"No, it's not like that—," I tried to explain, getting interrupted once more.

"So, you just don't like me?" he tried again, sounding a little more hurt this time.

"What? Of course not, I like you a lot, but if you would just—," I spat out quickly but I was stopped once more.

"Do my morals offend you?" Riku questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"No, they don't! Hold on, can you _please_ let me talk?" I finally yelled out, grabbing his upper arms to stabilize myself. "Let me just… start from the beginning," I sighed, dragging a hand through my hair, tying it back into its loose bun habitually.

I saw him shift his stance a little, bracing for the crazy train-wreck I can feel about to come.

"There's this guy back home, and we've been working together for… honestly as long as I can remember. I-I don't really know what our relationship was but I know that he felt for me. But every time I took one step forward, he took two back. On the day that I left, I'm pretty sure he was going to finally say _something_… but it was too late, and I was gone." A quivering breath drew out of me, trying to compose what was left of my dignity. I absolutely refused to look Riku in the eye, not knowing how he was taking it.

"Hey, we should get going and find a place to stay, it's going to get dark soon," I mumbled to change the subject, dragging a rough hand over my optics to clear its mist and taking a few steps forward.

"Hold on," Riku spoke from behind me, "If he knew you both felt something, why was he so scared?"

"Well," I started, turning to face him, "it's not that easy—"

And again he cut me off.

"Yes, it is. He had nothing to lose!" Riku reasoned with a dry chuckle. The look of regret passed over his face. It was obvious he wanted to take that back in fear that it might push me closer to the other man.

"Primus, huma—uh—Riku, look. First of all, stop interrupting me," I said with a threatening finger in his face. "Second, he had a _lot_ to lose! He lost me, didn't he? Optimus had his chance but blew it. And now here I am kissing this really cute guy, not him. You _think_ he's got nothing to lose? He's probably lost everything!" I started storming off, only to be stopped when Riku grabs my arm.

"Wait," the human spins me around to face him and looks into my optics with a straight face, "you think I'm cute?" A smile dared to break onto my face though I tried to wipe it off.

"Shut up, it's not funny," I snorted out. "I'm completely torn and you're not making it very easy for me!"

"That's the point!" he laughs out softly. "That just means you care for us both so deeply, which is the whole point of your dilemma, right? If it wasn't, there wouldn't be anything to fuss over, now would there?" His observation made me pout in defeat, to which he replies with a chuckle. "Miss Nova Marx, I wish you the best of luck with you problem."

"Whatever," I grumble in defeat. We started walking , his arm wrapped tightly around my waist.

"So, since he _isn't_ here, can we pretend that you chose me instead?" Riku asked sincerely, letting me rest my head onto his defined shoulder.

"Sure," I smile, walking onward into the slowly dimming sky.

To myself, I begin thinking like crazy. What the frag was I doing? I was supposed to leave this man, now I'm falling in love with him? How would that even work? Now I'm a liar, thief, and a fickle mistress.

And to add to that, not only was I in emotional pain, I was in physical pain, too. The skin on my feet felt so chafed and raw, something it has never done before. Come to think of it, so many other things have changed. It might have something to do with the fact that I've been depending on less energon and on more human sustenance. Recently, I've been feeling pain about a hundred times over on my still developing muscles.

Despite my age, my body's abilities were akin to a young human's, now more than ever. It was like the only part of me that was distinctly Cybertronian were my optics. I really wished Ratchet was here to help me figure out this stupid body together. All I have to help me are all the observations I've been tracking in my data-pad daily. Actually, I wished anyone would be here with me now.

Am I stranded? Will I have to become a human? Am I going to forget my home and blend in with these aliens?

No, I can't think like this, not now. We have a bigger problem that's going to tackle us head on in a few days. Crossing the ocean.

* * *

><p><em>Whoa-ho-ho-ho! A love triangle! Kinda makes you want to add this story to your alerts so you can read the next chapter ASAP right? Stay tuned my fellow people! Please review so I can keep typing and so you can keep reading. Tell me, my dear fanfic-ers, Nova and Riku? Or Optimus and Nova? <em>

_**~Don't be a stranger ;D**_


	5. Chapter 5

_Bleep Bloop. New Chappies! Bloop. Bleep. I literally just came back from walking for three miles around the most beautiful lake just as the sun was setting, my brain is full of inspiration and I'm pumped. Most, if not all of you, chose Optimus to be with Nova rather than Riku._

_**Alter Ego:**__ You can't blame them for choosing Optimus. I would choose him, too. All that sexiness bursting out of that smoking hot paint job. *moans*_

_**Me:**__ Back up! Back up! Hold on! Wait! Whoa, whoa, whoa… First, TMI #1, TMI. And second, someone's got a crush on a certain imaginary figure!_

_**Alter Ego:**__ I do not! Wait, yeah my last statement really did give it away, didn't it? I should stop doing that._

_**Me:**__ You should, it doesn't make it any fun when we bet on who your crush of the week is—I mean, please, do go on._

_**Alter Ego:**__ You do what? I thought we only did that to #3._

_**Alter Ego#3:**__ Don't bring me into today's banner. My sister put glitter in places I don't want to talk about._

_**Me:**__ Oh...o-okay. Um, cool? But do you wanna say the discl-?_

_**Alter Ego#3:**__ I'LL SAY THE DISCLAIMER WHEN I WANT TO!_

_**Me:**__ Eep! Okay... O_o_

_**Alter Ego#3:**__ GOOD! I'll do it today. Ahem. __**We don't own anything.**_

_**Me:**__ Really peppy today huh? *sarcasm*_

* * *

><p>"So, how do you think we'll get a flight across the ocean?" Riku asked me as we were resting on top of a bus that was taking us to the coast. Even from here, small grains of sands tickled my face, threatening to fester in the crevices of my clothing.<p>

"Flying? Who said we were flying?" I scoffed, leaning back onto him.

"Well, we can't exactly walk over the ocean," he laughed. I pointed over to the large docks with large, cargo ships stationed by.

"Does that answer your question?" I smirked. "Come on, our stop is here."

"The bus isn't stopping," he pointed out, getting into position regardless.

"And neither are we," I muttered, carefully crouching on my feet and jumping onto the short, flat roof of a nearby business. Riku followed suit, staring at me wide-eyed.

"Are you crazy? We could've gotten killed!" he scolded, catching up to me as I started to run for the docks, hopping over gaps in the crumbling rooftops.

"And yet you continue to follow me? I haven't killed you yet so stop complaining," I giggled at him. We jumped down from crates and such in order to reach the ground. Once our feet started clunking on the sea-stained wood, I led him into a small shack that contained almost prehistoric computers, even for human standards.

"What are you doing? Someone's going to catch us," he whispered sternly, checking our surrounds every so often.

"Well, I don't really want to get on the _wrong_ ship, now do I?" I returned in the same fashion. Scrolling quickly through the list of metal beasts that were coming and going, I found the one we needed. In fact, I did more than that, I hacked into mainframe and got us some space on board.

"What are you doing?" he asked when he saw I was printing something out.

"Getting us tickets," I said with a sly side-glance.

"You are so illegal," he chuckled disbelievingly.

"So are you," I whined, smacking his chest. When he wasn't looking, I tended to my now sore hand. This got me thinking, he _knows_ that we are going so far against the law, yet still we're in this together. Who knew it only took a little over two months to get someone to love you unconditionally?

The thought made me groan out loud. The decision between Optimus and Riku would be even harder now. I wasn't even sure if I should leave Riku anymore, we're in too deep.

"What's wrong?" he asked me, referring to my sudden outburst.

"Oh, nothing, I, um… just needed to check on something. Can you go find our boat? I'll catch up with you."

He nodded and took the papers from me while I turned back to the computer and opened up the internet. That was probably the most advanced invention these humans have ever made and yet its full potential remains unlocked.

I went to Samuel Witwicky's eBay page, currently the only way I can keep tabs on him. The good news was he was still alive, at least, I think so. It seems that he must be in serious need of money if he was selling such frivolous things such as used glasses and some old equipment used for exploration. Not to mention, the description's for his items were such obvious lies, it made me scoff.

Bribery was a definite option.

There was a sharp whistle that instantly caught my attention. Riku was there outside, waving me over. A quick glance at the clock above me said that the boat was going to be leaving soon. Exiting out of the eBay page, I dashed out, meeting up with him.

"So, how are we going to get in without making it look suspicious?" he asked, almost challenging me to top myself.

"Dear, sweet Riku, have you learned nothing from me?" I replied, holding out my hand for the papers. Grabbing his hand, I led him up the ramp and found the person we needed. "Hello, sir, we are the extra cargo you need to heft," I told him, showing the pieces of white affirmations.

He roughly grabbed them out of my hand, eyeing me down before reading the paper. His arms visibly tense as the cigar in his mouth shifts spots. He was pretty burly, someone that I was definitely intimidated by.

"Satous, huh?" he asked in a rough tone, eyes sizing the two of us up. "Gotta warn ya, this ain't no fancy, honeymoon cruise. I just got a crusty cabin rusting inside of this tin can."

"That's all we need, sir," I answered with a wide, polite smile.

"I never had passengers on this ship before so don't expect any formalities from me, either. Only got a couple rules. Don't touch anything, don't touch anyone, don't bug me, don't bug my workers, and basically disappear for the next few days," he growled. "Got any questions, ask the runt one cabin down from you."

"Thank you. We'll see you a couple weeks from now," I bid, hiding back the bitter. We walk our separate ways, hoping to never see each other again.

"So, the Satous? We're married?" Riku asked, teasing me in every way.

"Hey, don't let that mind of yours wander too much. I don't kiss on the first date, and I certainly don't get married on the first date, either," I told him, unnoticeably lacing my fingers with his.

"It's a good thing this isn't our first date," he whispered into my ear.

"You call running across the latitude of a country a date?" I kid to him.

"Says the girl who's holding my hand."

"I don't plan on letting go." Did I really just say that? What was wrong with me? First I meet a man with a plan to ditch him and now I'm flirting with him? I just don't know what to do anymore. Even if I don't leave him, will he be safe? Will the others accept that I would be dating this alien organic? What would Bumblebee think of me? What would Optimus?

"Stop that, right now. I want you to stop," he scolded softly, turning me so he could hold my waist in.

"Stop what?" I asked, suddenly scared of what he was thinking. Maybe he didn't want to keep following me. Maybe this was goodbye or something.

"Stop thinking so much, and stop trying to read everyone's mind."

Was he inside my processing unit? A small chill ran up my spine.

"I'll stop when you do," I pouted in defeat, kiddingly huffing out a breath and turning my head away from him.

"It's not reading your mind when you wear your thoughts on your face." He tried to close the gap between us with a kiss, but as soon as his face inched closer, my head tilted away. "This is what I mean about you thinking too much. I know you're thinking about this other guy. It's obvious, but is he here now? Can he somehow see you in my arms finally enjoying yourself for once?"

I glanced back and forth from each eye, trying to come up with a good answer. Turns out, I didn't need to.

"No, he can't," Riku hummed sweetly. "So, right now, you _don't_ need to worry, or over-think, or even plan what you're going to do when you wake up tomorrow. Let me worry for you… And let me give you a real kiss."

"What are you waiting for?" I replied, letting the warmth of his lips envelop mine. A couple of crewmen walk past us and evidently, they had a song playing on a radio they had. Silent snickers were heard as they placed the radio near us and began to walk away, sharing stories about how they were in love once.

Riku undid my bun, letting the long sea of pitch-black hair swoop down, and he ran his fingers through it, holding me even closer. The chorus from the radio couldn't have read our thoughts clearly enough.

_We may only have tonight  
>But 'til the morning sun, you're mine, all mine<br>Play the music low  
>And sway to the rhythm of love<em>

* * *

><p>It's been a little under two weeks and we were still on the ship. We were scheduled to dock by tomorrow, late afternoon. This boat wasn't exactly a nice one considering how gruff and particularly mean everyone was, except for the new guy who had been assigned to help us. But it was obvious that it wouldn't last long.<p>

It was late at night and every single person was sleeping at this time. In fact, _only_ the people were sleeping. I had calculated the schedule for the past several days just so I could find an opportunity like this.

My optics flashed open, casting a faint, purple glow on the darkness around me. The moment I tried to get up, something stopped me. A heavy limb was draped across my waist, pushing me close to the man behind me.

"Aw, you're spooning me," I crooned silently, hating to have to break away from his grasp. Gently, I move his arm off and try to find my clothes. One of the crewmen drenched every layer of clothing I was wearing in a weird, goopy slush. Riku offered me one of his shirts while my clothes dried. I would've declined the offer if it wasn't for the fact that those were my only clothes and I've just been cleaning them every once in a while.

I kept the magazine page that originally had those clothes on them with me but for some reason, I couldn't scan the page anymore. That observation had quickly been recorded in my data-pad.

So there I was, bearing nothing but one of Riku's longer shirts. Going over to the rack my clothes were strung over, they were still damp. On the bright side, they smelled of lavender instead of fish guts.

"Everyone should be asleep by now, no one will see me if I go to the deck," I rationalized to myself. There was a mini-mission I needed to accomplish and it had to be done now or never. I grabbed my bag hastily and slung it over my shoulder, hopping as nimbly as possible to get to the controls room. One down side of wearing only a shirt on a chilly night overseas, it gets really cold really fast. Who knew I'd get so used to the fabric that constricted my skin so easily?

By the time I snuck into the room, my legs were probably frozen solid and I could barely feel my fingers anymore, but not even that could stop me. A couple wires were pulled and a few radios snatched until I finished building the best communicator I could out of the parts I have around me. Out the extra energon from my bag went and into the machine it resided.

Now all I could do was sit there, pray for a miracle, and wait. What felt like ages worth of static and depleting hope filled my time. The energon supply was eating up all too soon. I could only hope that I didn't waste what little left I had of my life-blood.

Just then, a familiar chirp came online.

"B-Bee? Honeybee, is that you?" I clicked and whirred in our native tongue. My heart felt like it's going to explode with joy as tears push their way out of my optics. "Primus Bee, I've missed your voice."

"Nova! Finally, we got to you! Are you okay? Did you find the Witwicky boy? Are you hurt? Where are you? Is Earth as crazy as you said it was? Have you met the natives? Are they squishy like you were? Did you find the All Spark? Primus, I'm going there as soon as I can. Don't you dare lose hope! Oh, wait until Optimus hears about this," Bumblebee whistled on and on, leaving me to laugh breathlessly at his innocence and naïveté.

"Bee… H-Honeybee! Glitch-head, mute it will you, I'm trying to talk!" I scolded light-heartedly, trying to stop his rambling. He finally stopped. "Okay, Honeybee, I miss you, too, sweetspark, but I'm running on borrowed time here. I'm sending you the coordinates now. First set are where I am, second set is where Samuel Witwicky is presumed to be." After sending the data burst, my femme nature settled in, and I go through my round of questions.

"Hey, is everyone okay back there? What happened when I left?"

"We're all good, no one got hurt. The Decepti-creeps came back after we chased them off the ship. We were right to send you off so quickly, the 'Con we caught said they were going to go after you, to get your information. Primus, I don't know what I would've done if I lost you like that," he sighed.

"You sound so grown up," I breathe out, tearing a little again. "I miss you so much."

"Hey, I can hear your sadness all the way from here. Lighten up, I thought you were my _older_ sister," he chuckled sadly.

"And I thought you were supposed to be my _younger_ brother," I commented in the same manner. "So, um… How are _things_ over there?" I asked as nonchalantly as possible. It didn't really work.

"You want to know about Optimus Prime, huh?" he answered immediately.

"Is it that obvious?"

"We're light years away and it is as clear as crystal. Yes, it's that obvious," he laughed, an innocent chirp sprinkling through the sentence. "He's worrying about you, not that he'd outright admit it, but he really cares."

"How do you know?"

"Nova, this is the first time since you've left that I've had a break. Prime's been working us to the core, and right now my core hurts," Bumblebee whined.

"You're a strong soldier, Bee. Who knew a couple orns could make you stronger?" I whispered sentimentally, spark longing to be with my loved ones again. The sound of his voice made my spark fill with so much joy, it honestly hurt a little.

"I _will_ find you," he enunciated strongly.

The brother I used to know was never like this. He was much more carefree, living for the sheer joy of life. But now? He lives so others can survive.

My optics glance at the energon supply, it was almost gone. As the blindingly bright goop vanished into thin air, it took my mirth with it.

"I trust you will. Honeybee, I have to go. There isn't much time."

"No, please don't! You can't go n—!"

"Be strong, Honeybee. I love you, Baby 'Bot," I mutter, the wrenching pain in my heart close to killing me.

"I love you, too." And that was it. I slumped over in the chair I was sitting in and just let the weight of the world crush me. The feeling in the pit of my stomach was a mixture of happiness and depression. A quick peek at the clock showed me that the captain would be up here any minute.

The pieces that made my radio quickly went to its respective places. I took my bag and booked it out of there. By the time I entered my cabin, Riku was already waking up.

"Someone's up early," he commented groggily, getting up on his forearms. I thanked Primus for the day Riku decided to wear such a flimsy tank top. He noticed my staring and chuckled at me. "If you like what you see, you didn't have to get out of bed."

"You're hilarious," I mumbled sarcastically. Walking over to my clothes, I saw they were perfectly dry already. "I'm changing, don't look," I told him, turning my neck to wink at the man behind me. My only affirmation was him placing a hand loosely over his eyes.

Good enough.

Even as I stripped down and equipped myself with the plush fabric, I could _feel_ his gaze on me. Just to prove my point even further, I snuck a glance at my human friend and saw him hastily recovering his eyes.

"What's this? The only person I can trust right now is deceiving me with his words?" I stated in an obvious manner.

"I have no clue what you are talking about," he responded, shrugging his shoulders.

After slipping on my hoodie, I crawled onto the bed, hovering near Riku's face.

"Nuh-uh, still no peeking," I teased saucily, covering his hand with mine. My lips traced around his, taunting the two pieces of flesh. Before I could actually kiss him, something catches my optic on our port-hole window. "Primus," I squeaked, flying over the bed to inspect what I just saw.

"What's wrong?" Riku asked, coming up behind me.

"Frag it, he found me," I whimpered in fright.

"Who found you? Nova, what's happening?" Riku demanded, gripping me tightly.

"Riku, you have to know something now before it's too late. I'm not what you think I am. I'm not—," I was stopped when the window shattered and a small 'Con started tearing up the place.

"You!" I roared in Cybertronian. "Leave me alone!"

"I need pretty femme," he hissed back at me. It was the same 'Con that stole my data the first time. "I need pretty femme data."

My arm instinctively pointed out to pull my cannon on the freak but obviously, nothing happened. I did the best I could.

"Riku, get out of here!" Before the 'Con could do any real damage, I grabbed my bag and whacked him in the face, buying us some more time. We hustled out the door and tried to find a place to hide.

"What was that thing?" Riku asked me in a scolding whisper.

"It's too complicated to explain right now. Just know that he is a bad guy," I panted out, searching for the small creep.

"_He_? It's got a gender?" Riku breathed hysterically.

"Not now," I growled sternly, handing him a pipe. "Arm yourself… and stay hidden." A small frown appeared on my face, foreshadowing what's to come.

"Wait, you can't go out there alone. It's going to hurt you," he told me, gripping my arm almost painfully.

"He's _my_ enemy. I have something he wants, not you. I would never be able to forgive myself if you ever got hurt. So please, stay here." I grabbed a heavy wrench that was laying around and got ready to leave. Turning to face Riku, I gave him a quick kiss. "That's not goodbye, that was a promise. I will come back for you." And with that, I was off.

The 'Con was hot on my heels, springing from behind a barrel the second I stepped out of my hiding spot. I tried swinging the wrench at him, only getting a few dings in response.

"Why do you want my information?" I grunted as he managed to swipe my legs from under me. "I don't think you or your Decepticon buddies want to turn into humans!" It took a lot more effort to speak in Cybertronian now. My human tongue wasn't developed enough to make the accented trills and mechanical whirs it should have.

"You are becoming one of them," the small one observed, taking a hit to the head from my wrench. Maybe Ratchet really did know what he was doing with these things. They make great weapons. "We don't want more humans," he hissed at me, taking out his gun.

"Oh, not fair."

"We want more soldiers!" He was about to fire at me when a certain Riku stepped up behind him and swung the pipe heavily at the 'Con. The tiny, silver freak flew across the deck, appearing to be in a daze.

It suddenly made sense to me. The Decepticons weren't going to get anymore soldiers simply by building drones. If they could reverse my formula and turn humans into Cybertronians, they'd be in possession of the most powerful weapon in this war.

"Riku! Are you okay?" I asked as he ran up to me.

"I should be asking y—"

"Die filthy humans!" the creepy 'Con shrilled, cutting a cord and letting a rather large pipe swing out and knock both Riku and me into the ocean.

That was the last thing I could remember.

* * *

><p><em>The song used in this chapter was Rhythm of Love by the Plain White T's.<em>

_**~Don't be a stranger ;D**_


	6. Chapter 6

It was a hot, sunny day, the sun was blaring at my body, forcing me to get up. My lungs felt like they've been stabbed over and over again and my nose stung mercilessly every time I tried to breathe.

My entire structure protested my need to get up and survive. The pounding in my head became stronger with every second I plunged into consciousness. If I thought my muscles were sore before, they certainly are now as they screamed at me, trying to quell my movement of sitting myself up.

I looked around, optics screaming in agony from the salty grains that made contact with them. The sun above hit me with a second wave of scorching rays, determined to fry away every drop of water on me.

All that greeted my sight is the ocean, reaching out to grab me and toss my pitiful body across its wildlife. The next thing I saw was the beach, doing its best to keep me grounded and safe from the monsters in the water. What I didn't see were people. A certain person, I should say.

Where was Riku?

Every ounce of pain in my body was forgotten as I sprang to my feet, twirling in fruitless circles, trying to spot my charge. He wasn't there! Not on the beach, not in the ocean, not even on the road that seemed so far away.

"No!" I hollered, sustaining the note. Did I care if my screams burned the enflamed chord that only served to do as I command? "No!" Well, there's your answer.

It was a horrible feeling, worse than the physical pain I was in. I promised to return to him, to keep him safe, and for two and a half months, he believed me! Who was I kidding? Even I knew this was going to end bad, but I let my stupid heart tell me what to do. If I could go back, I'd let the 'Con take the putrid bag currently slung over my shoulders rather than my friend.

I should have never talked to him in the first place. I should have never stopped in front of his school and asked for help. Those two men should have had their way with me and let me rot in the dirtiest pits of Japan. I don't deserve to be alive! I don't deserve to be in…

Tranquility.

"This is for you, Riku. This is for you and for Bee," I croaked determinedly to myself. My new destination was set, a firm plan lodged into my mind. But first things first. I needed to clean up.

There was an alleyway in the direction I've been going, a bunch of nice, dry clothes were hung between every window, taunting me. I know it's wrong to steal, I've expressed my opinion on that many a time. But right now, I really didn't have a choice.

Like a program clicking on in my processor, I was a different Nova. A more primal Nova. My claws attached themselves onto every rail on the fire escapes, every sill on the windows. In a matter of minutes, I was hanging upside down from a slippery rail, reaching out for undergarments, a thin, lavender long-sleeve, and a too-small, ripped up, pair of shorts.

"Hey! Hands off my clothes, you hobo!" a grotesquely obese, old woman gurgled, struggling to get up from her seat.

Her language was different from the one I've been using. Thinking hard on my previous knowledge installed into me, I found the tongue she was speaking in. English.

"Sorry, ma'am! I have no clothes or money, and the fate of my species depends on me!" I hollered, grabbing the clothes and letting my grip on the rail go. I was falling head first to the ground below, dodging each line of laundry, not even the weight of my bag could stop me. A considerably thick and sturdy line made itself apparent to my optics. I grab it with the back of my knee and swung a full circle, sitting comfortably on the wire.

"You sticky-fingered bitch!" she screamed at me, unable to fit her immense frame through the window.

"Apologies!" I yelled back. Scooting over, I jumped into a fire escape and let the ladder drop down with me on it. There was a YMCA nearby that I remember passing. Hopefully, they had a swimming pool. If there was one, obviously, there would be a shower room. All I had to do was sneak in and use it.

And off I went. Getting inside the building was easy enough, no one was really paying attention to me. The second I step into the showers, it felt like the dirt that had been accumulated from day one on this planet had dropped away. The soap and shampoo that I had more or less borrowed from an open locker scented me gracefully, a citrusy tinge to my skin.

Ever since I stopped taking in energon, these fine hairs had been growing all over my body. I had researched that human females usually shave off leg and underarm hair. They would also occasionally shave hair in more sensitive areas.

Considering this fact, it was apparent that I had to shave as well, in order to blend in. I didn't understand this tradition, but it wasn't my species so there really wasn't a lot I could do.

In an estimated half hour, I felt fresh and relaxed… physically. Though it did ease my mind minimally, I was still a beat-up mess. What was my next move? Even if I did find Samuel Witwicky, what was I supposed to do with him? I guess I should probably keep tabs on that kid.

After leaving the YMCA, I tried to recall any addresses I saw on the boy's eBay page. Maybe I could find where he lives. I walked a couple miles in a nameless direction, something that's become second nature to me, and spot a high school. It seemed to bask in serenity, small birds sprinkling the exterior here and there. I wonder what happens on the inside.

In an instant, a massive wave of students burst out, flooding the area and filing into either a large, yellow bus or into a smaller vehicle. As if a gift from Primus, I see the human I'm after doing neither, and walking into a small, run-down shop. Like a mouse in a maze, my body perks up and dashes for the store that held the glorious sign which announced its need of assistance. "Help Wanted," it read, calling me towards the area.

"… So, I was wondering if you guys do any pawning, or if I could sell you some things," my target was saying to the uninterested clerk. The man behind the counter had heavy bags under his eyes, not even giving Samuel Witwicky the courtesy of eye-contact. All in all, he looked very out of it.

I walked up to the counter and pop my head right from behind the Witwicky boy. That's when the clerk fills himself with life.

"Hello, miss!" he beamed, completely cutting Sam from whatever mumbo-jumbo he was spitting about.

"Hey, I was talking to—Oh. Hi," Samuel spoke, putting on a nervous smile. Even without my sensitive, Cybertronian skills, I knew these two men were sweating profusely. Usually, sweating meant one was nervous, but in this case, I had no clue what they were nervous about.

I didn't have anything on me that was offensive, at least, I don't think so. My optics glanced down to see if maybe I had something embarrassing on my person. Maybe it was the lack of length in my shorts or the fact that the shirt I was wearing was skin tight. It was probably a male thing. This made me scoff.

Men.

"How can I help a fine madam like you?" the clerk said. He slicked his greasy hair back and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh," I whimpered silently to myself, watching as the lubricant-filled hand was directed to me in an obvious attempt at a handshake. "Um, I'm looking for a job. I saw the sign outside," I spoke uneasily, dipping my head slightly to acknowledge a greeting. There was no way in Pit I was shaking that hand.

"Oh, good!" he said loudly, frightening both me and Samuel Witwicky. "You stay put and I'll go get a form. The manager is out for the rest of the day but she'll be here tomorrow."

"Are you new in town? I haven't seen your face around here before," Samuel started, widening his eyes in horror for some reason. "Oh! Not that I meant that as a threat or anything. The townspeople are very nice. Don't take it the wrong way if someone makes an innocent comment. Not that you're not smart enough to figure it out yourself. Wait, that sounded bad. I-I didn't mean you were stupid or anything, despite the way you actually look. Oh, I didn't mean that in a sense that because-because you're beautiful, you're a ditz or anything," he awkwardly spat out, turning to the side to hiss at what he just said. "Um, I apologize for what I just said. Can we, like, rewind a little? Start over kinda?" he asked me, biting on his knuckle.

This was very amusing.

"Of course," I giggled, trying desperately to hold back my smirk at his expense.

"Oh, she's giggling," he wheezed quietly to himself, putting on a fake smile. "She thinks I'm an idiot."

"Not at all," I assured, "It's just, I'm really new here and I barely know anyone or anything. You don't know how desperately I need someone to help me around this place," I confided.

"Well then, it's good you met me. I'm a part-time tour guide," he claimed smoothly.

"Are you now?" I asked in a teasing manner. That's when his smile faded.

"No, not really," he chuckled uneasily. "But I could still show you around. I'm Sam, by the way."

"I know—Uh, I mean, I'm Nova," I coughed, accepting his hand in a shake. He looked way more sanitary than the other man.

"Nova? Like, supernova? The death of stars?" he asked to chat it up, realizing that he's been holding onto my hand for an awkwardly long time.

"I guess you could think of it like that. Or you could think of it as the birth of black holes. It's more positive but it doesn't sound any better," I joked, watching him nod at every word.

"Huh, positive," he repeated, looking off into the distance as if recalling a memory. "It's been a while since anyone around here's ever thought like that."

"Hey kid!" the greasy clerk from earlier yelled. "If you ain't gonna buy anything, get out!"

"Okay, okay," Samuel hollered back, holding up his arms in defense. "If I come back, will I see you again?" he asked me in a hushed tone, not wanting the clerk to hear us.

"I don't have much of a choice. Same time, Samuel," I bid before the greasy man starts chasing him out.

"Just call me Sam," were his last words before the door closed.

"Teenagers, I tell ya. I never liked my teen years, glad they're gone," he informed me, handing me a couple papers. "Here you go, milady. Looks like we get to be coworkers," he said with a gaze that made me shiver.

"Thank you, um, Earl," I replied nervously, looking at his name tag.

"No problem, sweetie. You ever need anything, you call on me," he said as I sidled to the exit.

"Oh yeah, totally," I lied, gasping the fresh air _outside_ the store. If I needed a place to stay, no matter what circumstance I'm in, I will _never_ ask Earl for help. Even thinking his name made me dry heave.

Now begins the grueling routine of wandering around. Something about this place gives me the impression that no one is going to have a spare room above their shop, or anywhere for that matter.

The sun already began to set and I know that I'm going to have to find refuge in either something abandoned, or in the streets. I still needed to fill out the stupid forms, too. Placing it in my damp bag, not caring if they got wet at all, I take out my data-pad and log my observations for the day.

I'm thankful for the fact that Ratchet made the data-pad waterproof. It would've been a darn shame if all my work got erased by the grit of seawater. My roaming had gone on for at least two hours and the sun was teasingly dancing on the horizon, telling me time was almost up. Giving a loud sigh, I drop my head in exhaustion and slug my feet over to the nearest dumpster.

"Nova?" a familiar voice called to me. "Hey, Nova, what are you doing still out?" Sam asked, jogging up to me.

"What am_ I_ doing out? What are _you _doing out? It's getting dark, shouldn't you be at home or something?" I questioned him.

"Home is just a street down and I was just coming from a friend's house. What about you?" His voice was now concerned, caring almost. Again with these humans throwing me for a loop.

"Well, I… don't… have a home," I force myself to say shamefully. It really wasn't something I wanted to admit. "Or anything really… I'm, uh, a vagabond, I guess."

"Oh, gosh, do you need a place to stay? We have a guest room and I'm sure my parents won't mind," he offered to me, and habitually, I began to decline.

"Oh no, I really couldn't. That's too much," I started, though it's obvious that he'd have none of it.

"Come on, I insist. I make a new friend in a day, I'm not going to let her freeze to death out here. Even though we're in Tranquility, the nights beg to differ," he said. "Don't worry, we won't kill you or anything. What have you got to lose?"

"Well…" I ponder a little, not wanting to get too close to my charge. I was about to decline once more, considering the fact that if I get too close, bad things will happen—I still had no idea what we needed this boy for—but apparently, the cold wind against my freezing legs answered his question for me. "Just for a day," I spat out quickly, shivering against the traitorous winds.

"Perfect. Casa de Witwicky is this way," he said, leading me onward. "So, what year are you? Gonna go to our high school?" Sam asked as we trek, trying to pass the time.

"Oh, you must be mistaken. I'm not that young, I'm twenty-two," I recite.

"Twenty-two? Are you sure? You look way younger than that," he observed. "Well, if you want my parents to let you stay, let's just say you're eighteen, for the sake of guilt."

"You sure I could pull off eighteen? That's a four year difference," I scoffed, rubbing my arms and legs for some warmth.

"Could've fooled me. You actually did, too. If I can't tell, they won't either," Sam explains, turning a corner to get to his abode.

"You don't know how much this means to me," I sighed as we reach his front steps. The very sight of the house makes me warmer already.

"Not a problem. But, um, for your sake, try and sell a sob story. My mom goes nuts for that stuff. You could see her bawling whenever a charity commercial comes on," he relayed, opening the door. The way a wave of heat just pushes us over is enough to make me melt in pleasure.

"Hey, Mom!" Sam hollered, looking around the house. "Dad? We have company!"

"Gee, Sam, you'd think we'd get a little warning before inviting a stranger to the house," his father grumbled as he jumps down the stairs. "Oh, who's your friend, Sammy?"

"Dad, this is Nova. Nova, this is my dad, Ron," Sam introduced, gesturing to the both of us.

"It's an honor to meet you Mr. Witwicky. Your son's a good man," I greeted, firmly shaking his much bigger hand. My only thought was that it was _so_ warm.

"Really? All right, what did he do to you? Did he bribe you or something? You a hooker?" Ron said bluntly, making me step back a little from the straightforwardness of all this.

"Dad! She's a friend, that's it," Sam scolded in a hushed tone.

"All right, what did I miss?" who I presume to be his mother said. "Oh, who's this pretty, young lady? Sam, did you finally get yourself a girlfriend? Oh. How sweet! My boy's first girlfriend!"

"Mom! Let's try to _not_ scare her away," he groaned while I stand off to the side, blushing like crazy. "I'm so sorry about my family," he whispered to me.

"Don't worry about it, this is kinda fun," I hummed back, a small smile finding its way to my lips.

"Look, guys, Nova needs a place to stay for the night and I told her we had a guest room," Sam informed.

"Absolutely not."

"Of course!" The parents chimed with one another.

"Ron! This poor girl is probably homeless! She needs a place to stay! What could possibly go wrong?" his mother argued.

"Everything could go wrong! We don't know this girl! She could be a serial killer or something!" Ron rebutted.

"Oh, stop thinking with your wallet. One extra person for the night isn't going to make us broke," Judy snapped right back.

"I'm not thinking with my wallet, I'm thinking with my brain! This girl has to have some sort of history in order to be homeless! Can't we just drop her off at the shelter a couple blocks over?" he spouted coldly.

"Ron!"

"Dad!" Now it was Sam's and his mother's turn to be in sync.

"She is staying the night and that is final," the stern woman commanded.

"Look, Sam, if your parents don't want me here, I could just walk around for the rest of the night or sleep at a bus stop. My health isn't worth your family arguing," I told him in a soft tone, but loud enough for the parents to hear. Sam wants a sob story? He'll get one. "I just hope I don't get raped out there, like last time. I'm so glad I ran into the police before they could get their hands on me."

"Ron, she's a young girl who could get _raped_. Do you really want to be responsible for killing this girl?" the mother whispered, giving Ron the puppy-dog eyes of the century.

"You're welcome to stay for the night," he finally sighed, rubbing his temples with a hand. Meanwhile, Sam and I bump fists behind our backs.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room. I'm Judy, by the way," Judy sang in such a motherly fashion.

"Nova, if you didn't know," I offered politely.

* * *

><p><strong><em>~Don't be a stranger ;D<em>**


	7. Chapter 7

As promised, I stayed in the Witwicky residence for only one day. They were a hospitable bunch, but I refused to get too emotionally attached. Mrs. Witwicky offered me a change of clothes to which I started to decline. Of course, being the strong-willed woman she is, she wouldn't let me even begin to say no.

Weeks had passed by since I last saw those gracious people. I've been living on a couch in the small employee lounge at the back of the store. My boss was a sweet woman, she struck me as somewhat of a motherly aunt. My lack of clothing wasn't a big problem since we had a uniform to wear and I was loaned two pairs. It would be easy to get by.

I've talked to my boss, Mary-Louise, about my coworker, Earl. Not a single, obvious word of hatred escaped my lips, but the idea was apparent. Mary told me she would've fired Earl a long time ago if it wasn't for her heart that just couldn't bear the pain.

I told her I would fire him but that would mean she'd have to promote me to assistant manager. She agreed faster than I could insinuate.

The Witwicky boy came over constantly. In fact, the only reason he couldn't go to the store would either be because he stayed late at school or he was going to a friend's house. Sam told me that he was looking for a car and all he needed was someone to buy his things from eBay. I saw the items and my honest-to-goodness first thought was no one was going to buy those.

But since I'm apparently his friend now, I wouldn't dare crush his hopes like that. The boy needed a car, and I wouldn't blame him for doing that. Humans need protection around these parts. If only Bumblebee was here to get Sam to buy him.

Speaking of which, where the _frag_ is my brother? Hey said he would find me but he's taking his sweet time getting here. Maybe he got hurt, what if the little guy is in trouble? Oh, I hope none of the 'Cons got him. Prime better not have sent him here alone.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as a large trembling shook the store. It was night and I was resting on my couch when the debris of the ceiling dusted into my lungs. Climbing up, I took a peek out of the window, trying to identify the source of the trouble. There was something that seemed to be on fire not too far from here.

I jumped up, grabbing my bag and a flashlight, and dashed through the back door. After probably ten minutes of sprinting, I saw this large, charred crater in the middle of a small field. Small bursts of flames emanated from the dewy, green grass, signifying that whatever was here left only a few minutes ago.

A crowd of concerned people began to form around me, all looking tired and confused. I decided that it was best if I left now before any attention was drawn to me. What was that? It looked like a meteor had been there. But that was the big mystery, where was the meteor? Maybe it was just a couple teenagers goofing off. Sam had said that the youth groups near these parts were occasionally destructive.

The more I pondered, the less aware I became of my surroundings, which would explain why I let an ear-piercing shriek roll out of my mouth when a large, metal foot slammed in front of me, barely an inch from my nose. The flashlight in my hand disappeared from the world and the bag at my side quickly became my best friend, beating at the offending metal.

"Ow, stop!" a familiar whirring spoke, shushing me and my antics.

"Bee? Honeybee!" I exclaimed, attaching myself to his appendage. I never really knew how tall Bumblebee really was until now. My mirth and merriment faded when I noticed a single, protruding fact. "You almost stepped on me, numb-nuts!"

"Sorry, you're so small," he whispered in that adorable clicking manner. I couldn't stay mad at him for long, especially when he knelt down and gazed at me with the widest set of optics he could find.

"St-stop. You know that won't work on me," I huffed defensively, trying to avoid his stare. "B-Bee, quit it. Oh, go find some armor! There's no dignity in being in your protoform," I tried to change the subject with.

"I resent that," he whirred angrily.

"Go before you start stripping to your second layer!" I scolded light-heartedly. "I'll be waiting for you over there. Hurry!" We went our separate ways, my heart almost bursting at the pain of leaving him when he just came back. It still felt very unreal to me, like I was just dreaming this. I wish I had spent more time hugging the big lug, just to prove to myself that he was real and that he would stay with me.

There I was, leaning against the back of the store, slightly dozing as I waited for my brother. It felt so good to be near him again, more than words could ever begin describing. A couple minutes that could've rivaled a hundred hours passed before an old, beat-up Camaro pulls up in front of me.

"That you, Baby 'Bot?" I asked groggily, slowly dragging myself up. My only affirmation is a peppy chirp. The door opens and it's obvious the wants me to stay and chat. I drop into his seat and immediately thank Primus that this alt-mode had bench-style seating. My first instinct was to just fall and sleep. I did the former but not the latter.

"What took you so long?" I murmured, looking at the air freshener hanging on his mirror. "Bee-otch… cute," I breathed to myself, letting him explain his tardiness.

"Well you see, first I had to find a place with a lot of vehicles. I saw this huge passage way that was just filled with all types of vehicles. The second I saw this bright yellow car, I knew that I had to have—," he began to buzz and chirp.

"That's not what I meant. What took you so long to get to Earth? And why the frag are you alone?" I snapped, not mentally prepared for his childish jokes.

"Someone's tired," I heard him mutter. "It took some time to get Optimus to clear me to go on this mission. The second he approved, I left. I didn't really give him time to get someone else to go with me," Bee whistled sheepishly. "But we have a new mission here. Once we find the Witwicky boy, I'll contact the others and they'll join us."

"Everyone?" I asked incredulously. That was easily over one hundred 'Bots that would come to Earth.

"No, what have you been consuming? Optimus devised a separate team. They're orbiting the Earth as we speak," Bee explained. I could feel him scanning me, Ratchet probably told him to do that. "Nova, are you feeling well?"

"I couldn't tell you if I wanted to. I haven't been able to transform lately, or do anything for that matter. I feel like I've become a complete human," I relayed, covering my optics with an arm. It's been a Pit of a day, or more like, five months.

"Hmm, well, I think I know why," he said hesitantly.

"Tell me!" I almost cried, propping myself on a forearm. "Bee, if you could get me back to my regular self, I would—"

That's when the little fragger shocked me with a mega-dose of energon. Huh, that's new, my little brother torturing his much older, much bigger sister. Helms will roll.

"You pipe-sucker!" I gritted as a few waves of electricity buzzed around me. It gave a weird tingling at the back of my head, no doubt a few strands of hair were currently defying gravity. "That really hur—!" I tried to scold. Apparently, Bee's torment didn't stop there as he booted me out of the safety of his cabin. I pulled out my cannon in retaliation, ready to put a few extra dents in Bumblebee's pretty, yellow paint.

"Wait, wait, wait! Nova, don't hurt me, just look at what you've done!" he quickly spat out, shifting to his bipedal mode.

"I haven't done anyth—Oh… Well, how did that happen?" I asked him sheepishly, looking at the miniature cannon that was previously my hand.

"You were going to shoot at me?" he asked in an offended manner after I had figured out what happened.

"Honeybee, I'm tired and cramped in this human form, cut me some slack." With those words being said, I transformed for the first time in five months, only to be tackled by a hug. "Oh Primus, finally I can finally breath!" I exclaimed, cycling air through my vents to get my systems up and running.

"It's so nice to see you again," Bumblebee whirred, still hugging the side of my hips.

"I gotta go back, Honeybee. Humans may not be able to see as well as we do, but they can still spot a twenty-eight foot 'Bot in the dark," I tell him, gently prying his yellow body off of me. This information instantly went into my data-pad.

"Five months without energon in human form will result in systems turning completely organic. Best remedy is to refill energon. Results may be permanent," I think out loud, tucking away the small device afterwards. Once I climbed back in the comfortable cabin, my lids began to flutter closed while I listened to the sounds of the night.

"So, Bee, why do you need this Witwicky kid?" I asked softly, already half asleep.

"We need to find his ancestor's glasses, Archibald Witwicky's. Samuel is currently in possession of it. The glasses have a direct map to the All Spark. We have to find it quick, too. The 'Cons are hot on our tracks," he explained, whirs clashing as I start to lose consciousness.

"I know where they are. I've seen them before… We'll get them tomorrow," I slurred, yawning between sentences. My head digs itself deeper into the comfort of Bumblebee's seats, resulting in a little shaking. The little mech is still as ticklish as ever. "Goodnight, Honeybee."

"Goodnight."

* * *

><p>When I wake up, I'm not where I want to be. I'm not with who I thought I was. And as of right now, I'm not surviving.<p>

"Nova, stay with me!" Riku roars at me, clinging to a chunk of metal as we bob up and down in the middle of the ocean.

"D-don't let go!" I immediately respond, clinging to his slipping fingers for dear life. The familiar salt of the sea invades my senses, slapping my optics, burning my nose, and invading my crevices.

"The-the tides! They're too strong!" he yells, shifting the buoyant piece of metal so I have a better grip.

"What are you doing?" I scream, trying to grasp him once more.

"Saving you!" I'm quickly placed in a firm position on top of our only salvation.

"I'm not getting on this thing without you!" I scold, trying to heave him up with me. Out of nowhere, a large wave pushes us both over. The deceiving, blue glitters that serve only to exterminate our existence reveals a large version of the little 'Con that's desperately tried to attack me several times.

The freak chuckles deeply before he reaches out to grab the man in front of me.

"Riku, watch out!" I screech, trying to get between him and our offender.

It was an attempt a second too late.

The Decepticon grabs him and begins to cackle before crushing a piece of my heart in his palm.

"No!" My head shot up and unexpectedly hit the passenger's arm rest. "Aw, slag that hurt," I mumbled, regaining control of reality.

"Are you okay? You've been squirming like you were in pain for the past couple joors. You're blood pressure is crazy," Bumblebee cooed, watching me as I finally wake up.

"No, I'm okay. Just a bad dream," I explained shortly.

"Is it because of a ree-coo? You were saying that a couple times, along with the words 'Decepticon' and 'don't leave,'" he informed, obviously scanning me again.

"I wish you'd stop that. I get enough scans from Ratchet, I don't want my little brother turning on me, too," I whined, rubbing my head. "And no, it's not because of Riku. He's a person I met that… died… recently," I choked, finally believing that he's gone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he buzzed quietly.

"Don't be," I said, hugging the steering wheel, "I'm just glad I got to know him. He helped me get from Japan to here because that's where I originally landed."

"What was he like?" Bumblebee asked innocently.

"He was sweet, his priorities were straight. You know he came with me so he could help his family? Sound like someone you know?" I asked teasingly, rolling my head on the wheel.

"Us," Bee chirped happily. I chuckled softly at him.

"I wish you could've met him, Honeybee. Riku was caring… and strong… and he had the cutest smile. He was taller than I was, and compared to other humans, that's really tall. That man was always so gentle when—," I was stopped when Bumblebee honked his horn, snapping me out of my reverie. "What?"

"I'm losing you. You're humming your answers," he kidded softly.

"Bee?"

"Hmm?"

"I-I think… I think I fell in love with him. My spark felt so twisted and cracked when I lost him to the seas. I really did feel like dying," I confided, mostly to myself as I pondered upon what I felt.

"You fell in love? What about Optimus? You know he hates himself for screwing things up with you. There's literally nothing else he's been thinking about except you. No matter how much he tries to remain professional and unbiased, it's just so obvious that he's madly in love with you," he calmly relayed, trying to reason with me.

"It doesn't matter anymore," I spat bitterly, tightening the quick grip on his wheel. "Riku's dead," I almost growled, hating how weak Bumblebee was making me feel. "The only thing left I can remember about him is… his kiss."

"WHAT?" Bumblebee yelped, jerking backwards and making me slam my head on his window and my chest on the steering wheel. His alarm was blaring, waking a few birds nearby and probably startling the people in the neighborhood.

"Shut up, shut up!" I wheezed. "People will hear you!"

"He kissed you? You _kissed_ him?" he asked incredulously once his alarm was turned off. "Oh, Optimus will not be happy," he began to chuckle darkly, reveling with this new piece of blackmail, not that he'd ever use it.

"You better not say _anything_ if you value your spark plugs," I hissed at him, not entirely meaning my words. Yet still, the crazy, little 'Bot had the audacity to laugh even more. Shaking my head, I glanced at the clock on his dash.

"I gotta get ready for work, Sam will be there. I need you to go hide or something. Go park out front, I'll tell you how it goes later," I directed, shaking myself to a more alert state. My shift was all day, considering that I had absolutely nothing else to do, so it would be a boring morning for me.

When Samuel finally did come, I saw that his father was outside, waiting.

"Hey, Sam. You need something?" I asked, spying a glance at Mr. Witwicky.

"Heh, that's funny," he chuckled, "you know I never actually buy anything from here. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you're dad's right outside waiting. I figured you might actually need any of these caveman technologies," I replied.

"Oh, no," he laughed breathily, "just came to check on you. We're actually on our way to get me a new car."

"Finally, you've been talking about that nonstop," I congratulated, resting a hand on his shoulder to which he responded with a whimper. "But you really don't need to make me your detour. You've done so much already."

"I just like to think that you still need my help. Believe it or not but I'm not that popular," he confided, mentally cursing when he tells me that slightly embarrassing information.

"Well, you're a celebrity in my book," I encouraged. "Now go get your car, don't let me slow you down."

"'Kay! See you later, Nova," he bid, practically bounding out of the store. Once his father's car is completely out of sight, I jumped over the counter bag in hand and dashed to find Bumblebee.

"Bee! Bee!" I called in a harsh whisper. He seems to get the idea and throws his door open, letting me hop inside. "Follow that car. Sam's inside." As we slowly tailed them through the dealership, I explain what I need Bee to do.

"Honeybee, if you really need those glasses, you need to let Sam buy you," I said, feeling weird as the words slip out.

"Nova?"

"Yeah, you heard me, don't make me say it again," I snapped, watching as they pulled up into a practically junky place. The cars there were centuries old, the perfect place for Bee to hide in. I stepped out of Bee a couple yards away from the Witwickys.

"Wait, I need your help," Bumblebee whispered. "Look, there's a very small chance that he'll purchase me out of all those cars. I—I need you to… look… provocative," he almost choked out, sounding ready to purge his tanks at any moment. "Oh Primus, slap me if I ever say that again."

"I want to slap you now!" I breathed loudly.

"Trust me, it'll work, it's a male thing. If there's a good reason for him to buy me, he will," Bumblebee explained, driving off before I could chew his head off.

I had to admit, he was right. I looked around, seeing a poster of a model on the window of the shop.

"He wants me to be provocative? I'll be drop-dead sexy," I muttered stubbornly, scanning the woman I see. Instantly, my legs become leaner and my curves become more obvious. I feel the weight of my chest grow as I become minimally bustier. My hair pops out of its bun and curls at the edges, gracefully framing my face.

The pale, purple work shirt I had on folded and becomes a dark purple, plaid shirt that tied itself around my abdomen. It buttoned down to show a respectable amount of cleavage. The khakis I was wearing tightened and folded up, turning into tight shorts that really let in a breeze. My sneakers burst open and elevate, turning into purple-felted platforms.

The make-up that printed on my skin give me plump, velvety red lips and catlike lined eyes.

"I feel like a hooker," I grumbled, getting accustomed to my heels. Definitely not vagabond shoes. I saw Bumblebee across from me, already parked and ready. I scowl at him and mouth very threatening words. He's laughing at me and I know it.

Sam and his father begin to drift closer to Bee and I know that now is my time to strike.

"Sam? Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked, waving across the lot. The three men there _were_ talking business, now they're just gawking as I near them. Their eyes were so obviously invading my body but I had to remain compact.

"Sammy, you know this girl?" Ron asked. I even heard Bee splutter a little. Now that he's seen me up close, I'm pretty sure he isn't too happy about the way I look.

"Dad! That's Nova!" Sam scolded quietly. "Hey, Nova, wh-what happened to you? I-I mean, you look different, like, really different. Oh, not that you're ugly or anything, you're the complete opposite. Now you're smoking hot, no, wait! I-I didn't mean it like that, well, I guess I did because, your boobs are like—," he stopped to bite his knuckle and practically face-palm himself. "So what are you doing here?" he squeaked, a nervously wide grin set on his face. Sam was sweating, in fact, all the males were sweating. Gross.

"Real smooth, son," the dealer commented.

"Actually, I was just walking by and I saw your ride." My head nodded towards Bumblebee who, though none could see it, was beaming in pride. Cheeky, little runt. "I was just wondering where you got such a… hot… car," I swallowed thickly. If that slagger was recording any of this, death would be imminent.

"He got it from me, Bobby B., heheh," the desperate man chuckled awkwardly. He came closer to me, a little too close, and slowly shook my hand. This resulted in my backing closer to Sam, trying to keep an alluring composition.

"So, Sam," I quickly started, "mind if I check it out? Can't be buying a crap car now can we?" I hummed near his ear. The boy shook his head breathlessly, gesturing to the car. I bent down to peek through the window, successfully executing the oldest trick in the book.

"Nice tattoo," he said, obviously looking at my aft where my Autobot insignia was barely hidden by the hem of my shorts. I hadn't realized that it was there until I took a shower a couple weeks back. Apparently my human form is kinky.

"Are you staring at my af—butt?" I quickly correct myself, careful of my Cybertronian slang. Sam began to stutter, covering up his blunder. My hand comes up to his chest as I dip closely to his ear. "It's okay."

"How much for the car?" Ron chirped loudly, snapping the attention to him.

"Considering how much this lovely lady seems to appreciate it, and you know ladies have the best sense of taste," he purred, wiggling his eyebrows at me. "Five grand."

"Eh, sorry, I'm not going over four. Maybe you can find a different car, Sam. Wanna help us, Nova?" he offered, walking around a bit. I calmly stayed behind, panicking inwardly.

"Bee, what are we going to do?" I whispered, watching as the boys walked to an adjacent car. It was a bright-yellow buggy.

"Calm down, I got this," he whirred quietly back. A split second later, Bee's passenger door slammed into the Volkswagen next to him. "Now for the other fifty plus cars."

"Honeybee, what are you thinking?" I asked cautiously.

"Close your optics."

"What?"

At that moment, Bee's radio switched on, accelerating to an unspeakable decibel. I had to admit, using the radio to break every window within the vicinity was smart. Keeping my optics open was not. It was like two little explosions in my brain. The force was strong enough to knock me down, making it look like someone socked me in the face.

"You fragging glitch! How about some more warning," I growled, kicking Bumblebee's bumper.

"Hey, let me help you," Sam offered, giving me his hand. I covered my optics as if the sun were just glinting in my eyes. "You feeling okay?"

"Um, do you have any glasses on you? The sun hurts," I chuckled, graciously accepting the pair given to me.

"Need me to give you a ride home? Looks like I got a new car," he said, tapping Bumblebee's hood. I was about to decline yet another offer when Bee's door opened slightly to tap my hip.

"Yeah, sure," I smile.

* * *

><p><em>Well, there you go, starting to overlap with the movie now. For those of you who read this chapter and have yet to notice, I did kill Riku off. He is now floating about in the middle of the ocean, waiting to be picked up by a Pirates of the Caribbean fanfic. Thank you for your reviews! Go forth my children! And spread the news of this fic to your multiple friends or people whose stories you read! Tell them to come here and we'll have a review party! Yay ;3<em>

_**~Don't be a stranger ;D**_


	8. Chapter 8

_Yay new chappeh! Can I please has teh good reviews?_

_**Alter Ego#3:**__ Oh, I'll give you a good review all right. *laughs maniacally*_

_**Me:**__ Umm... #2? Can you get in here?_

_**Alter Ego#2:**__ Of course! Anything for the greatest writer of all time!_

_**Alter Ego#3:**__ Yeah right. She needs to learn her place in the writing world. I'm going to give you a lesson you'll never forget._

_**Me:**__ Ack! #2! Please control your brother!_

_**Alter Ego#2:**__ Who wants some glitter?_

_**Alter Ego#3:**__ Noo! I'll get you Sam! In time, you'll see! Mwuahahaha!_

_**Me:**__ Oh gosh. Anyway. __**I don't own anything okay? Except my OC's.**_

* * *

><p>It was late afternoon and I was resting in Bumblebee's backseat. We were in Sam's backyard, though he didn't have to know that.<p>

"I can't keep hiding in your backseat, Sam's going to find me sooner or later," I told him randomly, my legs propped up on the head rest while _my_ head was more or less dangling from the bottom of the seat.

"Turn into an air-conditioner," Bee commented lazily, not putting much thought in his words.

"You know I can't do that," I hissed, glaring at his dash.

"All right, stay in the trunk." And here I was, thinking that was a joke. Boy was I wrong.

"Are you serious? I could die," I deadpanned, twisting so I'm sitting right-side up.

"Don't worry, I'll give you air, keep you safe. It's comfy back there," he teased, earning a "Really?" look from me.

"Pit no!" I stubbornly whined. "There's no way you could ever convince me to squeeze in that grimy thing." My thumb jerks to the general area of the trunk.

"Hey, I'm not _that_ dirty… Am I?" he asked, sounding a little self-conscious. Just then, I catch a glimpse of Sam heading out the door.

"Frag, Bee, let me out, he's coming," I breathed, slipping out of the car.

"Just sync up with me for the time being. I can't really take you anywhere," he told me as I tried to dodge from Sam's parents' peripheral vision.

"Fine," I grumbled, using the little device I created for us so I could see and hear whatever Bumblebee does. Our sibling bond doesn't work as well as it's supposed to for whatever reason so for the most part, I've had to come up with little doodads that imitated a normal sibling bond.

"Hide!" he whispered.

"I'm going!" I growled back at him, making a very annoyed face. Sam's steps were heard right behind me, following the sounds of bickering with his parents. Before anyone could see me, I dived for a huge potted plant, concealing myself from every human within the vicinity.

The two left me alone, mouth filled with nasty exhaust. Once the parents were sure to be oblivious to my position, I snuck in the garage, waiting until Bumblebee came back.

By then, I could see that Sam had driven to pick up some blond kid and were apparently on their way to a party. Even if I couldn't feel what Bee was feeling, something about that blond human made my skin crawl.

I passed the time by messing around with Mr. Witwicky's tools and such. I even fixed a couple things. It was a very dull day that day.

In my vision, I see that now Samuel was driving after a girl. She had a pretty shirt. Maybe I should change my shirt, too. Ron probably has a magazine or a picture somewhere around here. Doing a quick scan around the room, I found something of interest. Underneath all his tools, shoved tight underneath a heavy box, was a very perverted magazine.

Oh, how gross.

It was an underwear issue, and I quickly flipped through the pages, sure that I wouldn't find anything decent enough. Surprisingly enough, there's one girl on one page that probably had the most clothing. The only reason I decided to scan her was because these pumps were killing me.

So now I had a dark purple, almost black, soft v-neck shirt with a neckline that drooped to my chest. The silver miniskirt I was wearing was somehow shorter than the shorts I had on previously.

"No, I'm not wearing this," I grumbled to myself, intent on finding something else later. My heels thankfully turn into flats, the best thing on me right now. The only thing hiding my sensitivities were lacey red underwear that were obviously peeking out of the clothes. "Of course, I scan an underwear catalog, I get fancy underwear," I sighed, hunching over.

The sound of Bumblebee's beaten up engine neared and I spied Sam skipping inside the house through a crack in the shed. Perhaps he had successfully wooed that pretty girl I saw.

The moment my body became visible to Bumblebee, he chirped angrily.

"What in Primus' name are you wearing?"

"Desperation," I blurted softly, opening his passenger door. "I don't like it either, but I didn't have any other choice." The seatbelt wraps slowly around me, as if he sensed my drowsiness, he probably did. And yet, he takes off, driving to a destination unknown.

"Where are we going?" I yawned, watching as the lights whizzed past me.

"Gotta signal the others," he said casually.

Others? My team? My friends? Optimus?

"Well, I know what you're thinking," he sang like the brat he is. So what do I do? I offered the ultimate punishment, of course. "St-stop tickling me!" he laughed, swerving through the empty lanes. "You're going to kill us both!"

"Stop making fun of me then!" I giggled back.

"Fine, fine, truce!"

"For now, youngling… for now…"

We reached this old train station place, or was it a junkyard? It was hard to tell in this kind of lighting but that really didn't matter. The seclusion was what we needed and this place had a lot of it. Each crunch beneath his tires echoed in a completely abandoned territory. Despite its unsettling features, this place felt safe.

Bumblebee pulled up to a clear area and transformed around me. I was accustomed to the jerky motions as I eventually ended up on his shoulder, scanning the sky with him.

"Who's coming?" I asked softly, not wanting to break the stillness of the night.

"Um, Ratch and Optimus, obviously. Jazz and Hide are coming, too," he informed, flashing the sign.

"Oh goody, my favorite 'Bots," I muttered sarcastically, though I spoke the truth.

"Especially a certain some—Ow!"

"Just because you're my brother doesn't mean I can't kill you," I threatened, quickly pinching a cable at his neck.

"I thought you were supposed to love me unconditionally," he whined.

"I love you enough to give it to you straight, Honeybee," I chuckled, leaning against his helm. "So tell me, has Ratchet ever completed that holoform project he was working on? Or what I like to call it, the copy-Nova-because-he-had-nothing-better-to-do project." Though, I had to admit, having holoforms was better than becoming a techno.

As Ratchet explained it, the entire CPU of a 'Bot would be transferred to a solid projection of a human body. It would basically be like the soul of a Cybertronian would be switched with an Earthling's.

A large crash behind us snapped me out of my thoughts as the sounds of barking quickly ensued. Just when I thought we were in a trustworthy place. Clangs and clatters instantly filled what little was left of the silence. Our heads both flicked to the noise disturbing our peace and saw that Sam was running hurriedly away.

Bumblebee transformed to go chase him down but instead of putting me in the driver's seat, I'm in the trunk with an oxygen tank.

"What the frag, Bee?" I cursed, banging on what I can.

"We can't let him see you," he explained, holding back the laughter I know is there. Once my optics adjusted, I can see that it's filthier than I imagined in here. And I'm pretty sure something just crawled up in my ear.

"You are going to die mercilessly for this!" I threatened weakly.

"You're hilarious," he commented, doing some fancy driving that made me feel sick. All of a sudden, he stopped and drove in a retreating motion. After a few seconds of calm, Bee shifted me back to the front where I spaz out a little, getting all the germs off of me.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, seeing that we're leaving Sam behind. "Hey, hey! Stay with the boy! Those cars could be 'Cons for all we know!" I told him, gesturing to the police cars.

"Don't worry, those are the authorities, I know it. Sam will be fine," he comforted, strapping my wriggling body down.

"The authorities? Now he's going to go to jail!" I yelped hysterically.

"Calm down, Nova. Trust me on this one, I know what I'm doing," he murmured smugly. "The second he comes home, I'll explain everything."

"Fine, you better be right about this," I muttered angrily, crossing my arms. "At least follow him, I need to make sure that kid is safe."

"Yes, Lala," Bee chirped like a good little mech, using the Cybertronian word for mother.

"Oh, mute it and let me sleep," I grumbled, shutting my optics. A small debate developed in my head, wondering if I should let Bumblebee run amuck while I slept inside of him. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

* * *

><p>When I woke up, it was because of the horrible yapping that erupted from the rodent Sam calls a Chihuahua. Bumblebee was pulling in the driveway and that's when the boy decided to make a run for it.<p>

"What's happening? Why's he running?" I asked, wasting not a second to wake up. That's when my little brother began to chase him. "Don't chase him! Haven't you learned anything? You're only scaring him more!" I reminded, spying the pink bike Sam was wielding in front of us.

"Well, sorry!" Bee snapped sassily. "But while you were _sleeping_, I followed the boy all night! This was the only chance I had to talk to him."

"Don't use that tone with me, sparkling! And for Primus' sake, get off the sidewalk!" I scolded, trying to make us as inconspicuous as a rock on the ground.

"Since when did you become my lalaith?" Bumblebee argued, swerving to keep Sam in his sights.

"The second you started acting like a sparkli—Bee, retreat!" I screamed when I saw an all too familiar car following out target.

"What? What did you see?" he asked, smoothly following my orders without skipping a beat.

"You have to cut Sam off on a different route. Barricade is here," I murmured grimly. It was only about time a 'Con found the boy. The moment Barricade's name escaped my lips, I was shoved forcefully back into the trunk.

"Bee!"

"I can't risk losing you again," he explained, driving around the main event.

"We can't risk losing Sam either and right now, he's confronting Barricade," I informed, peeking through the hole in Bumblebee's trunk. "All right, now Barricade is hovering over Sam… Now he's pounding a fist dangerously close to the boy… Okay, he's threatening the human… And he just flipped a car. Honeybee, do something!"

"I'm trying!" he grumped, drifting to pick up who I assume is Sam. By the sound of it, there was a second passenger, a girl. Probably that human Sam met last night. When did she get here?

"Bum-ble-bee!" I enunciated crossly. "Put me up front, now!" Yet he did absolutely nothing. We were currently speeding down a street with Barricade hot on our trail. "Oh slag, oh slag, oh slag…" I muttered.

The game of cat and mouse went on for just about forever until Bee pulled into probably another junkyard. It was more or less impossible to tell because _I was stuck in a filthy trunk_!

"Nova, get the humans to safety, I'll take on the 'Con," he whispered to me, obviously mentally preparing for what he was about to do.

"Oh sure, just because I'm a femme, _I _have to—"

"Nova!" he snapped, making me jump.

"Sorry," I muttered, really wishing that I had a decent pair of pants right now. In a split second, he rushed forward and spun sharply, dumping all of us out, quite literally in my case. I had to tuck and roll, surprisingly landing on my feet.

The children were captivated by the brawl Bumblebee and Barricade were dishing out but compared to what I've seen, that was nothing. Yet those two seemed to be in a trance. Only when they were dangerously close to the feet of the fighters did I act.

"Sam! Pretty girl! This way!" I yelled, waving them over. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied that little creep of a 'Con popping out of Barricade and running straight for us. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? "Oh, I'm going to _kill_ you!" I roared, getting out my cannon and aiming as it attacked Sam's pants off. The 'Con _actually_ attacked his pants off.

All the animosity I had for that freak rolled out now that I knew I had the upper hand. Sadism slowly took over me as I think I actually laughed as my shots clipped more and more of his metal away.

"Sam! I can't shoot him when your body is in the way!" I complained him, looking for an open shot.

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm being mauled by a robot!" he screeched, making me roll my optics. Once the Decepti-creep was successfully flung off of Sam's body, I shot relentlessly at it. The girl from earlier comes out of nowhere and attacks it with a saw. His head severs and Sam kicks it far away, taunting the piece of scrap metal.

"Oh, um, you should really let me kill it next time," I hummed uneasily as I watch the head fly off into space. Oh well, nothing bad could happen anymore, it's just a head. At least now I know that I won't have problems with _that_ particular 'Con anymore.

"Hey, you kids okay?" I asked, doing a quick medical scan on them. Nothing but a couple scrapes. I made sure they didn't feel the scan but in return, I received vague results.

"Sam, who is that?" the girl asked.

"I don't know anymore," he muttered, eyeing me warily. "Who are you, really? _What_ are you?" he asked, stinging me a little with the edge in his voice. "How did you turn your arm into that gun?"

"Hold on," I replied him, gesturing for them to follow me. "I'll answer you when we find Bumblebee."

"Bumblebee? Is that what the car… robot… whatever it is called?" he asked in the same cold tone.

"Sam, you really shouldn't be insulting them," the girl whispered.

"Witwicky, you should listen to your friend. I'd watch what you call my little brother," I threatened lightly, then turn to human female. "I'm Nova," I greeted, holding out a hand which she took respectfully.

"Mikaela," she beamed.

"Pretty."

"Thanks."

"So your 'brother' is here," Sam said, putting quotes around his words, "will you answer my questions now? Are you guys some sort of special robots? Probably from Japan, huh?"

The mentioning of Japan twisted my heart but I tried not to let it show.

"Okay, I'll start as far as I can," I sighed, resting my hands on my hips. "I'm still Nova, the same one you met a few weeks ago. The only difference is that I'm actually a twenty-eight foot, autonomous, sentient being. And before you say anything, yes, in human terms, I am a robot."

"Okay, so what do you guys want from us?" he asked, warming up a little. I'm surprised he was much calmer than when he first saw Bumblebee.

"Witwicky, we need you to save our world," I breathed, starring right into his soul as my optics cast a dim, purple shadow around them.

"W-what? How?" That's when Bumblebee chirped and folded into his alt-mode, popping open the door.

"Boss 'Bot's gonna fill them in with the details," he whirred at me.

"Yeah, but how long will that take?" I scoffed, not yet moving from my spot.

"They're here right now. Entering the atmosphere as we speak," he informed, revving his engine to get us in quicker.

"What?" I gasped, optics widening and arms dropping. "They're here?"

"Who's here? You can understand him?" Sam asked unsteadily, watching the exchange between my sibling and me.

"Unfortunately, I'm the _only_ one who can understand this cheeky runt. Anyway, if you have any more questions, and I'm sure you do, then we can take you to the guy with all the answers," I informed them, hopping into the back seat. "Don't worry, you'll like him, he's a real softy."

"Wouldn't you know?" Bee taunted.

"Shut up, sparkling," I growled playfully. The humans climb into the car, albeit hesitantly. Mikaela was sitting most of the ride in an awkward position.

"He's a pretty good driver," she said to break the silence. Bee responded with probably the cutest chirp known to the universe.

"He's playing it up," I chuckled, patting the seat.

"Why don't you sit on that seat over there?" Sam asked her, nodding to the driver's seat.

"I'm not going to sit in that seat, he's driving," she hissed at him, making me and Bee laugh silently. I guess I could understand the apprehension this human had.

"Well, maybe you could sit in my lap," the boy put out there experimentally.

"Why?"

"Well, I have the only seatbelt here. You know, safety first," he justified. All attention was on Mikaela now, waiting to see if she would comply. She did.

"If you guys don't mind," I said, tapping on Bee's driver seat, wanting to sit in front. That section of seating folded down and I crawled onto it, letting the back of the chair meet mine.

"I really admired what you did back there," Mikaela randomly confided.

"Turning into a robot isn't really a skill," I corrected, amused with the way human's thought.

"I was talking about fighting in a mini-skirt," she replied smoothly.

"Speaking of, do you guys have any pants?" I asked quite spontaneously.

"After today, I don't think I'd want anyone else taking my pants," Sam commented, creating a small collection of chuckles.

"Not to be rude or anything, but if you guys are super advanced robots, why did your brother turn into a piece of crap Camaro?" Mikaela asked, making Bumblebee jerk and splutter sporadically, resulting in the humans getting kicked out.

"Honeybee, what are you doing?" I asked, turning to look at the kids we ditched. Just then, the seatbelt tightened around me and we tipped over, scanning the car underneath us. It's just like my Bumblebee to be better than the best. "You would," I giggled, watching as the humans stared with opened mouths.

We drove the rest of the way in relative silence, stopping when we arrived at the Griffith Observatory. It was on top of a mountain which we had a fun time twisting around. I witnessed as our teammates fell from the sky, each landing at a destination of their own. I could've sworn I saw Ratchet hitting the store I used to work at. It was actually kind of amazing to see the collection of four robots float across the horizon. That brought a feeling of hope, like I knew I could do this.

Sam and Mikaela were gazing at the beauty of the descending 'Bots, gradually holding each other's hand. They were just too cute together.

"I know what and who you're thinking of," Bumblebee teased quietly at me.

"Oh dear, sweet, Baby 'Bot," I sighed, "I know where your brake lines are and how to cut them in your sleep," I threatened happily.

"You wouldn't."

"Try me," I sang.

After all four of them landed, Bumblebee drove us to the rendezvous point. It was a pretty big alleyway but not too different from the ones in Japan. Still the same dirty puddles but more asphalt than Earth. When I caught sight of the cars who I knew were my mechs, my spark electrified and dared to offline with happiness.

The humans got out and they witnessed all the 'Bots changing in a synchronized manner, Bumblebee being the last one. I was shifted around until I was in his palms, him cupping me like a little butterfly. My only portal to the outside world was the few cracks between his digits.

I heard the sweet baritone that could belong to only one mech as he began introducing the others to Sam and Mikaela. It was then audible that Ratchet stopped him, speaking now to Bumblebee.

"Bumblebee, I am sensing that you are not alone," he started, obviously insinuating to the sentient hidden in the yellow mech's hands. Bee whirred bashfully before opening up his servos and showing me off to the others.

"Sweet Primus," Ratchet vented, optics refocusing.

"I knew she wouldn't die. It's physically impossible," Ironhide huffed, nudging Jazz. Bumblebee then turned to show our leader. He reminded me of a little sparkling trying to get the attention of their mentor.

The second our optics met, I heard his cooling fans kick in at high gear. So, obviously, the memory of our previous chat was yet to be forgotten.

"Optimus, I do hope you didn't forget to introduce me," I hummed devilishly, shifting to my full height once Bee let me down. I made sure to stretch the kinks out of my system, feeling the heat of his stares on my body. The humans made audible gasps as they saw me in all my glory.

"Do you still remember what you had to tell me earlier," I whispered near his audio, making his frame shiver slightly.

"And this is Lieutenant Nova," he stated, taking a second to gather himself as he watched me retreat towards Jazz. "Second in command for this mission, our researcher."

"Oh, you make it sound like I'm not important," I pouted teasingly, shaking my head when he started looking just the tiniest bit flustered. To be completely honest, I hadn't been briefed for this mission so it was a huge surprise to know that I had been place as Lieutenant. Oh the Pit I could unleash with my power.

Turning to Jazz, a smirk settled on my face as I bent to hug him once more, letting Optimus explain our dilemma to the humans on the background.

"When I asked you to make him suffer, I didn't want you to torture him. He looks so unsettled," I whispered to him, both of us glancing at our leader. "You can still see him quivering," I kidded.

"You know me, baby. When you ask me to do something, I go all out. Jazz delivers," he told me, cocky attitude and all. "It's good to see you all in one piece, femme," he said as I drifted towards Ironhide.

"I know you missed me," I taunted lightly, forcing a hug on him. "You don't have to lie."

"If there is one thing I am a hundred percent sure of, it's that I did _not_ miss you," he huffed, avoiding any and all optic-contact with me.

"Please, he was so mad that no one told him you were leaving, he broke one of Wheeljack's inventions. The invention that _wasn't_ about to explode," Jazz snickered.

"I did no such thing," Ironhide rebutted. "That slagger, Sunstreaker kept taunting me so I dented his helm. _He_ stepped on Wheeljack's toys," he mumbled.

"You know that Sunny wouldn't say anything unless there was some cold, hard evidence backing that up. He's a sly 'Bot with… methods," I told him dramatically.

"Whatever, I was still the last 'Bot who started whining about you being gone… Aw Pit," he cursed, wanting so bad to suck the words back into his mouth.

"Aw, Metal-Wedgie, I missed you, too!" His face turned to a high level of sour at the sound of this beautiful nickname I came up with.

"Of course you did. I knew a femme like you couldn't travel to an alien planet without my guns to protect you. I bet you were scared out of your mind," he chuckled darkly, reveling at how it was my turn to scrunch my faceplates.

"Why I ought to…" I began, releasing my fist when he smirked darkly at me. "I know your secrets, Ironhide. I know all of them," I whispered mischievously, walking over the last mech on my list.

Before I go through the routine of reminiscing with Ratchet, I punch him solidly on the arm… hard.

"Ow, what the frag was that for?" he asked, rubbing at his arm and glaring at me.

"Oh, I don't know Ratch, but maybe if you _stayed online_ and _guided me every step of the way_ like you _promised_, you would know!" I emphasized clearly though my words remained hushed so I wouldn't disturb the little meeting the humans were having. "What happened?" I whined, sounding very much akin to the sparkling Ratchet makes me feel like.

"What happened was I was trying to save your life!" he returned in the same, harsh manner, waving his trusty wrench threateningly at me. "Those idiot 'Cons that attacked us tried to get a pin on your location. I had to cut the wires before they found you."

"Well, you didn't do a very good job considering the fact that _I almost died_! One of those 'Cons found me and tried to kill me every chance he got," I scolded. But this is Ratchet we're talking about, this mech practically raised me, so I couldn't stay mad for long. I gripped him in a tight hug, whispering weakly into his audio, "Don't ever leave me like that again."

"Never again, youngling," he sighed. "I checked your vitals, your energon levels seem depleted and particles of organic tissues have been detected in your system. Care to explain?"

"Yeah sure, hold on," I said, transforming back into a human and motioning for Ratchet to pick me up. I took out my data-pad and found the wrist port Ratchet had. Connecting the two, he downloaded the information and no doubt stored it somewhere safe.

"You need to refill now," he dictated, popping out a small cube from a compartment on his body. I graciously took the multicolored cube and drank greedily. By then, Optimus was telling everyone that we had to go to Sam's house to obtain the glasses.

"So," I breathed to Ratchet. I was riding in him this time because he still wanted to do some tests to back up the data I gave him. Barely ten minutes with the medic and already he wants to poke around me like I'm the newest toy in the market. "How was the ship after I left?"

"Hectic, but more than usual," he confided. "We did everything we could to reach you after the 'Cons left, orders of Prime, himself. I kept telling him that nothing could be done, but would he listen to me? No, of course not. No one does," he began to ramble.

"Ratchet, focus."

"Right, anyway, we were being worked like slaves. It was getting to the point where I knew Prime was getting delirious. I mean, I know that the presence of a femme with anybody releases the tension purely because of your maternal circuitry, and that when you take a femme away, things usually get tense. But never in all my multiple millennia as a CMO did I see a mech revolt with the void as much as he did." Ratchet sounded very worried and pissed at me all at the same time.

"Ratchet, you're making this sound like it's all my fault. Now you know very well that I am not responsible for the inevitable reactions of a mech's circuitry," I said patiently.

"I know, trust me the void took over all of us, but all I'm saying is that you better fragging do something about that power-mad, lovesick 'Bot before I have half a mind to scrap him," Ratchet growled wickedly.

"Dearspark, dearspark," I started, patting the dash, "trust me, I will. Let Auntie Nova handle this. But I'm telling you, it won't be easy. It doesn't look like he's going to talk to me, like always."

"Just… don't give up," he choked out, as if there was more he wanted to say. Sure Ratchet, I'll just keep following a mech that doesn't have the guts to do a slagging thing about me.

When we arrive at the alley behind Sam's house, he comes up to Mikaela and me, telling us to "Babysit" the 'Bots while he went for the glasses.

Fun.

"Okay, guys, he's looking for the glasses so just… stay here and don't make noise," I put out there, letting them do with that what they will.

"I can dig it," Jazz speaks up from behind me, "but Optimus can't." I flash him a confused look before turning around and seeing the Boss 'Bot stand up.

"No! No, no, no, no! Please don't do that! Get down! Get-get down," I command desperately, hushing my tone in fear that I might draw attention towards us. As Optimus continues to ignore me, I looked at Mikaela for some assistance in this matter. She tried to talk to him but got nothing in response.

"Sam's going to yell at us, isn't he?" I asked, dropping my head in shame.

"Oh well," she sighed, watching as the others follow Optimus' lead. They began to move but our human legs are just too short to catch up properly. I make a mental list of everything they manage to break: a bush, another bush, some guy's hedge, a trash can, a grill, the stupid path Mr. Witwicky was breaking his back over… So it was obvious that they broke a lot of things.

Bumblebee was far ahead, on the porch, when our optics barely met. I tried to give him a telepathic message. "Stop them! Stop them! Stop them!" He seemed to get the idea and tried to get the others to quit it. But those 'Bots were just so hard headed.

"I love you. God, I love you. Just, so much right now," we could hear Sam stall as we continue to run. He is a very awkward child. The last thing we heard him say was, "All right, I love you! Sleep good, handsome man!" That's when the scolding began. "What are you doing? No, watch the path, watch the path! Please, please! No, wait, no, no!"

That crunching sound must've been the fountain. I laughed internally.

"You couldn—you couldn't wait five minutes? Five minutes! You couldn't just stay? Just… stay! Gah!"

When Mikaela and I finally showed up, very out of breath, we gasped at the sight before us. Almost everything was destroyed. It was a miracle that all the 'Bots fit there, though.

"I told you—I _told_ you to watch them!" Sam yelled at us, turning his fury in our direction.

"Well, you know, they seem to be in a hurry," Mikaela returned with a concerned look on her face. She was probably worrying about the damage made.

"You know mechs, they like to get what they want and leave. Men," I spat disgustedly, earning a giggle from the girl next to me. "You know, you're not bad for a human," I confided, smiling proudly at her.

"Neither are you," she hummed in a similar tone.

"Um, ladies? Yeah, twenty foot robots in my yard! Let's do each other's nails later!" Sam barked at us, a small vein starting to pop out on his head.

"Promise?" I asked, testing his patience. He just stared at me with wide eyes. I'm quite certain that I broke him.

Behind the boy, I can see his little rat of a dog trotting near Ironhide, lifting his leg. I may know little about species other than humans, but I knew what that little dog was doing.

"Oh no, Sam, your dog," I whispered, covering my mouth and pointing behind him. Too late. We both run to contain the violence that was sure to ensue.

"Mojo, off the robot!" Sam scolded as the sound of Ironhide's small patience began sending signals in my intuition.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, Hide," I tried lulling him, petting his leg as he pulled out his cannons.

"Look, this is Mojo. He's a dog. Dogs are good," Sam explained nervously, probably praying that he wouldn't get stepped on.

"He's leaked lubricants all over my foot," he grumbled. Now is probably the best time to switch tactics.

I've learned through life that seduction makes for great mech-slaves, as I've recently found out when I decided to dress like a slut. Knowing that the human body wouldn't really be optic-candy for the mech who was ready to bite someone's helm off, my voice was clearly an option. I've seen his sparkmate do this multiple times, why couldn't I?

"Ironhide," I purred, stroking what I could on his leg. Thank Primus I knew what makes the mech anatomy tick, literally. "Don't worry, sweetspark, I'll get that off you before it rusts," I hummed. The towel that placed itself in my hand worked magical circles on his foot. Ironhide's internal temperature is obviously rising as the metal near me starts to heat up. "Jeez, don't pee yourself," I muttered to myself."

"What was that?" he asked, trying so hard not to succumb to the temptation of moaning.

"Nothing dear, I'm almost done," I said smoothly in Cybertronian. In the corner of my optic, I catch Optimus glaring at Ironhide with something akin to jealousy. "So this is how I get your attention," I mumbled my thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"I'm done," I said quickly, winking an optic. "Call me anytime, baby," I bid in a faux macho voice, walking over to the woman who was painfully holding back laughter.

"How the heck did you do that?" she asked incredulously.

"Easy, it's the same thing you do to Sam," I joked, watching her face turn bright red.

"W-what are you talking about?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

"You're only lying to yourself, sweetie," I sighed, patting her shoulder. Teenagers are so young. We witnessed Sam hustling inside, shushing the 'Bots as he went.

His exact words were, "Shut up and go hide!"

"Autobots, recon," Optimus commanded, everyone moving to the house to peek in the windows.

"Do you think we should help?" Mikaela asked me, observing the impatience that Autobots were having.

"You go on ahead, I'll keep these guys in line," I said, really just wanting to witness this crazy. Ratchet's shoulder is where I ended up, lazily picking at it while Optimus hoist Mikaela into the window.

"Sam, they really want those glasses," she told him as she scooted inside.

"Time is of the essence," Optimus added. A small argument ensues and I tell myself that I really should get used to this by now. It's been like two weeks since I've known Sam and yet all his antics still surprise me.

As I was more or less in a trance with the complexities of my medic's shoulder, some wise guy told everyone to go into their alt-mode. I just end up in Ratchet's cabin, too out of it to do anything else.

"You know, this isn't what Sam meant by hiding. He's freaking out right now, I can feel it," I relayed to Ratchet.

"When isn't that human accelerating his heart rate?" he answered with a question. "Stop that, it tickles," he directed me softly, referring to the fact that I was tracing patterns on his steering wheel, waiting for something new to happen.

"Sorry," I half chuckled, letting my grin drop as I enter deep thought. Something is bugging me and it just won't stop.

"You can tell me, I won't say anything," Ratchet spoke randomly, snapping me back to reality.

"It's just that…" I sighed, resting my forehead on the wheel, "I don't get that mech. I mean, if Optimus really wanted me, why isn't he showing it? You said it yourself, he wouldn't stop until I was found. Is it me? Am I doing something wrong? Why can't he just fragging talk to me?" I groaned, gripping tightly on the steering wheel as a reflex.

"No, you're fine," he chuckled at me, as if finding my problems hilarious. It must be an old 'Bot thing. "You just have to be patient with that one. I've known Optimus ever since he became a Prime, you should know that he's not the type to open up so easily."

"Sadly. Why do I have to be such a sucker for the clammiest 'Bot in the world?" I sighed, reclining in my seat.

"You are so young," Ratchet taunted.

"Stop saying that," I whined, if only proving his point further. Maybe Ratchet is right, Optimus probably just needs some time. Then again, I don't usually listen to Ratchet and I kind of want results now. I'll settle with trying to make him as jealous as possible.

Optimus started to get up, the others following him. His relatively huge foot crushed a bunch of flowers; one more thing to add to the ever-growing list. He began to argue with Sam… or it seems that Sam is arguing with _him_. Yeah, that's more believable. Optimus' hands go up just to stop the boy from blabbering.

"Calm down, calm down," he said before directing us to fall back. I guess Ratchet took that command literally as he began to… well… fall back… right into a bunch of electrical wires.

It was too late for me to try and say anything so I leapt off the unstable mech and transformed as I fell, just so I wouldn't die. The force of me hitting the ground made me fall back into Ratchet and shake the immediate perimeter. The electricity swam through us, invading every crevice. As awkward as that was, it felt amazing.

Wow, a new chance to do something provocative.

"Whoa, that was exhilarating," I gasped, rolling off of him. My chest was heaving heavily as I tried to cool my overheated system. And yes, I could feel a certain someone's optics on me.

"Wow, that was tingly," Ratchet commented, helping me get up.

"Tell me, medic, in some weird, perverse way, did we just interface?" I asked, still sitting though I was pretty level with him. "Play along, mech, you know what I'm doing," I whispered in his audio, making Optimus practically break a gasket just watching.

"Who said you can't teach an old mech new tricks?" he offered huskily, shaking his helm at my plot. I got up, dusting off the dirt that clumped on me. "You gotta try this," he told Ironhide.

Bumblebee was pretty oblivious to what my little plan was so he whirred angrily at Ratchet, still watching out for his sister. I personally thought that he was such a precious youngling for doing that.

"Yeah, that looks like fun," Ironhide responded sarcastically. I think we all feared about the damage that may have inflicted onto our medic. He seemed more… giddy… after that shock.

We regrouped near the windows… again. But this time, I perched on Jazz's shoulder. He seemed much more mentally stable than the others. Ratchet was pointing a light into the house which Sam obviously did not want.

There was a conversation, or more like an argument, emitting from the house. His mother spoke awkwardly, as usual. I can bet that Mikaela was having a hard time staying silent in that room. The second Sam's parents began roaming around the room, all the 'Bots kicked it into high gear, finding a place to hide.

Unsuspecting of the spontaneous movement, I was silently flung into through the window, landing gracefully next to the still concealed Mikaela. Thank goodness for Sam's ignorant parents. I'd also like to thank whoever bumped the house at that time because they caused an "Aftershock," successfully distracting any attention from the hidden females.

Ron ran to the window afterwards, probably checking for damage. I could just imagine everyone trying to hide from site. He came back in, yelling to Judy about how ruined everything was.

"The parents are very irritating. Can I take them out?" I barely detected Ironhide saying.

"Ironhide! You know we don't harm humans! What is with you?" Optimus scolded. He _finally_ said something about that. I couldn't deal with Hide hating on the alien species here.

"Well, I'm just saying we could. It's an option," Ironhide returned bashfully. I giggled a little, unable to choke back the laughter in my body.

Mikaela hit me, mouthing the words, "Shut up!" But I didn't care. Sighing loudly, I stood up with a human girl in hand, tired of this hiding.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Witwicky," I waved, "We were just… uh… chilling."

"Oh, Nova, it's so good to see you," Judy let out obnoxiously, giggling awkwardly at the sight of Sam with two girls. Even Ron bumped his son's fist. Boy, was that awkward. "So, who's this?"

"This is Mikaela, another one of Sam's friends," I explained.

"Oh, Sam, your lady friends are just gorgeous. I'm sorry you had to hear our family discussion," she apologized, another one of her awkward giggles following her sentence. "Wait, they're not lesbians are they?" Judy asked Sam at a very loud volume. I probably should also get used to the fact that discretion did not run in this family. At least Sam had the decency to face palm in retaliation.

"Oh no, we're not," Mikaela answered. "She's got a boyfriend," she explained, putting a hand on my shoulder. I stared at her with wide optics, scaring her a little when our gazes met. "What, I thought the big one was your boyfriend," she whispered, "I mean, the way he kinda goes into another world when he looks at you—"

"Let's not do this right now," I begged, hoping no one really heard us, though knowing that the 'Bots have sensitive hearing, that was a shot in the dark.

"Mom, stop saying the first thing that comes to your mind!" Sam pleaded, obviously very annoyed.

"Well, sweetie, I just want to make sure you had some sort of a chance," Judy breathed, a look of compassion flashing through her eyes. She turned to tell us what I'm guessing was a story about Sam in his youth stages.

"All right, that's enough," he interrupted, shoving her and Ron out the door. "Hey do you know where my backpack is?" he asked while shoving. The answer was kitchen and that's our next stop on this whacky scavenger hunt.

"You're mom is so nice," Mikaela commented as Sam rummaged through his bag. I watched closely to see the magical glint that signified what we Cybertronians live to protect. Or at least, the map to it.

The split second Sam took to grab the glasses, a sound took my attention.

"Frag, it's the cops."

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Don't be a stranger ;D<strong>_


	9. Chapter 9

_Don't look at me like that. I know what I did, and I'm sorry! I'm sorry okay! I tried the best I could!_

_**Alter Ego:**__ What is she talking about?_

_**Alter Ego#2:**__ I have no clue._

_**Alter Ego#3:**__ I hope she goes suicidal. __***gets death glares from everyone***_

_**Alter Ego:**__ That's not funny._

_**Alter Ego#2:**__ Hey Sam, what's wrong?_

_**Me:**__ I put the new chapter up too late even though I promised people that it would be up sooner and Optimus was barely in the last chapter, but I'm so, so sorry-y-y! I was watching Spongebob while I was typing and it was a new episode and then I lost track of my story because I accidently started typing things about Spongebob instead of Transformers and—_

_**Alter Egos:**__ We get it!_

_**Spongebob:**__ I don't blame you for watching my show. It tends to capture both the child and teen demographic._

_**Me:**__ Thanks Spongey. BTW you have cool pants. Can you say today's disclaimer?_

_**Spongebob: She doesn't own anything. Even me.**_

* * *

><p>"Um, Sam?" I said, peeking out into the living room. Funny, these scurrying humans flooding into every opening of this abode seemed to be looking for something. Oh, wait. "There are a couple federal officers searching for you."<p>

"What?" He craned his neck to double-check my statement. We see them taking and scanning various items. Especially the items outside… where the Autobots had magically disappeared. "No, no, no, no," Sam muttered, each word louder than the last as he flew into the living room, Mikaela and I traveling behind.

"How you doing, son? Is your name Sam?" a man in a smart, black suit asked in a relatively cheery tone. Everything about him seems wrong to me. Quite obviously, he had previous engagements, an ulterior motive, and we were simply pawns in his game.

"Yeah," Sam answered skeptically, probably debating on whether or not to trust the guy. We all kind of huddle together, Mikaela grabbing my arm and standing behind me. Something tells me she doesn't want to be seen by these guys. Then again, I don't want to see _them_. The logic here balances out.

"Well, I need you to come with us," the man said. Ron stepped in front of us, telling the federal officers that they weren't permitted to take us anywhere. Judy stepped in front of us, too, both parents arguing instinctively.

This sent me yet again into a thought at how wonderful these humans were. They barely knew me or Mikaela, and yet they had the courage to step between us and a higher force just to keep us safe. Granted, their methods probably wouldn't work but it's really the effort that made me smile.

"What do we do?" Sam asked me silently, barely making a sound. I could see his heart beating out of his chest in fright, almost smelling the sweat that lined his forehead. This kid was a mess.

"Just play along," I mouthed, shrugging. Whatever it was that kept telling me that it was safe and we'll be fine was doing one Pit of a job convincing me.

"Son, step forward, please," the man called to Sam, startling us for we thought he may have caught on to our quickly devised plan. He swiped something around the boy, I'm guessing it's a Geiger counter. This officer stared at the counter in shock, and I feared for the worst as he does. Perhaps not everything was going to be all right. "Fourteen rads. Bingo! Tag 'em and bag 'em!"

Just when I thought the night couldn't get any more deranged, a large group of men swam in from the shadows, suffocating what little light we had in the house and started grabbing us, cuffing our hands and forcing our bodies blindly into black cars. I decided to humor the humans in this situation. Considering the fact that I'm currently energized with a sufficient amount of energon, the pathetic metal restricting my wrists was nothing compared to my superhuman strength.

"So, ladiesman217. That is your eBay username, right?" the strange man, whose name I recently found out was Reginald Simmons, asked in an almost casual tone. It was most likely that he's dealt with cases like ours before, that is, if our case even has a category to be filed in. Mikaela glared at Sam for the beautiful choice of name while I merely laughed at the boy. Politely, of course.

"You think national crisis is funny…?" Reginald questioned me, though he stopped to give me a quick once over, resulting in a complete flip in attitude, "…young miss?"

I almost purged at this man's audacity. Flirting with Ratchet, I can deal with. Pit, Ironhide, even, but this man? It was wrong on many, many levels. Primus was heavily thanked when Simmons turned his attention back to the boy.

"Last night at the station, you told the officer your car _transformed_. Enlighten me."

"You told them, what?" I hissed barely audibly at the human next to me, setting my glare to full power. I was right about that night, we should've taken Sam when we had the chance instead letting the humans deal with that problem.

So what did I do? I let the _fleshlings_ try to lie their way out of this. Call me horrible, but I thought the attempt was hilarious. After a strung up series of words had been placed, everyone began laughing awkwardly. It was Sam's turn to glare at me, and I went along with it, laughing a plastic laugh. Why did I even bother? I could transform at any second and get this over with.

Then again, Optimus would chew me out because I killed a few sentient beings and most likely the entire population of Earth would hate us. I decided to lay low.

"So, what do you kids about aliens, huh?" Simmons spat quickly and abruptly. This time, I took the lead in this charade.

"Seriously? Those urban legends that keep _grown_ men single and living at home with their mothers since… forever? What are you, twelve?" I asked accusingly, reveling in the expression on his face. "Ah, I struck a nerve didn't I?" My triumphant scoff made this disgraceful man pull out what he called a do-whatever-I-want-and-get-away-with-it badge, threatening to lock us away forever.

"Ugh, you know what? Don't listen to him, he's just pissed because he has to get back to guarding the mall," Mikaela chimed in sassily.

"You, in the training bra, do not _test_ me," he growled quietly.

"So, you're not denying it?" I asked, _testing_ him.

"Yes, I am. And I wouldn't be ganging up on me when her daddy's parole is coming up," he answered back with a gallon or two worth of confidence. Both Sam and I glanced at her.

"I-it's nothing," she murmured, trying to brush the subject off. The mood painfully changed in that small vehicle.

"Oh, grand theft auto, that ain't nothing?" Simmons inquired, really enjoying this moment. I could not have wanted to punch a person square in the face more than I did right now.

"You know those cars we used to fix?" she started unsteadily, probably wondering if she should even divulge us with answers. "Well, sometimes they weren't his," she explained, biting back tears.

"You stole cars?" Sam asked accusingly, resulting in my knee connecting to his thigh.

"It's not her fault, if anything, it's the government's. Something about the stock market or whatever." I tried shifting the blame back to our captor so all this bickering could be leveled out. I'm pretty sure that information was legitimate. I mean, I _think_ I read it somewhere. "You don't have to explain yourself to us, sweetie," I confided to her, giving Sam one last hate-stare.

"She'd got her own juvie record! She's a criminal! Criminals are hot!" the suited man barked, violating her with his pupils. I was fed up with this pervert using us purely for eye candy. If only he knew how much I could screw up his pretty, little life. I probably was already, just by being alive.

"Are you a pedophile?" I asked randomly, making sure to get up close to his wrinkled face. This was an honest question that I wanted to know the answer to. I think I spoke for all of us when I reeled back in horror at his weak and pathetic declination.

The others began to bicker once more and I quickly dropped out of the conversation, seeing as how none of this applied to me, at least not yet. Something caught my gaze as I was staring out the window. Despite the infectious darkness that seemed to suffocate this part of town, glimpses and gleams of light danced in a similar pattern that I've memorized. My optics trained on the large mass that could only be my Optimus Prime.

Hmm, that sounded nice. _My_ Prime.

Quickly, I shifted my fingers into small wires in order to pick the lock on the handcuffs. My wrists quickly sang a ballad of relief once the restricting pieces of metal were no longer jarring their existence. Next, I leaned comfortably next to Sam, making sure that Simmons or the man driving couldn't see that I was picking his lock as well. The boy gave me a strange look, questioning internally at why I was practically cuddling next to him.

"What? I'm tired," I mumbled, lolling my head on his shoulder. He quickly understood the lie when his wrists experienced the same revelation as mine. I would've undone Mikaela's cuffs if she weren't so far. Though that didn't stop me from at least trying. My train of thoughts came to an abrupt halt when I saw Optimus' form nearing us. At the last possible second, I uttered a spine-chillingly eerie warning. Probably from the way I chuckled it dementedly.

"Brace yourselves, kiddies," I chirped, feeling the car lift several feet into the air before crashing onto the ground with its roof conveniently gone. It took me a while but after my first wave of vertigo passed, I returned to what was my usual self. "Hey Boss 'Bot," I smirked casually, hopping to my feet and stepping over federal bodies to get out of the car. "Took you long enough."

"Gentlemen, I want you to meet my friend, Optimus Prime," Sam spoke smugly, chuckling at the feds' faces.

"Taking the children was a bad move," Optimus stated, obviously, even if unintentionally, striking fear into the offenders' hearts.

"He's doing a pretty good job scaring these people, huh?" I told Mikaela, at first intent on freeing her hands, but I saw that she did that on her own. She was pretty speechless at how easily Optimus could make this once cocky Simmons turn into a babbling fool.

"So you're pretty good with handcuffs now, huh?" Sam berated her harshly. I kind of wanted to kick him in the balls for being so rude, but this was obviously a problem that those two had to deal with themselves.

Though now that I currently had a wave of courage in me, I stepped near Simmons and smirked, getting ready to mouth of like a crazy glitch.

"So, how's _your_ day going?" I drawled. "Me? Oh, mine's going perfectly. I mean, at first I was abducted by a perverted creeper who just wanted to get under my skirt, but then my boyfriend stepped in to _fix_ the problem." I made sure that I emphasized the word "Fix" harshly enough, comparing that human to Samuel's Chihuahua.

But did anyone miss when I accidently slipped the word "Boyfriend" in there? Absolutely not. No doubt it was Optimus who I heard, shuffling slightly and clearing his throat. Simmons squinted at me, mouthing my blunder-word, yet I went on with my rant.

"But is that all? No, justice has yet to be served. Now, this little miscreant is going to get pissed on." At that second, I stepped back, letting my brother carry out my threat. I absolutely loved that little mech.

"Bumblebee, stop lubricating the man," Optimus scolded. He wanted to laugh, I knew it. But some weird Prime mechanism inside Optimus physically restrains him from doing so. At least, that's what I think.

"Buzz kill," Bee whined, making me laugh. Simmons kind of just muttered to himself, observing this crazy, little picture. Sam stomped over to the man, interrogating him while I gradually drift over to Optimus. He's been doing a Pit of a job avoiding me.

From here, I witnessed Sam taking away the now—ironically—cuffed Reginald's stupid badge and Mikaela making him strip to his underwear. Revenge is beautifully sweet. I watched as the whole band of humans were forced to line up neatly in a row, like good sparklings waiting patiently for a treat. The mechs I've befriended by default whipped the humans into shape, putting on a show just to let the fleshings know who's boss. While everyone was having their fun, a collection of sirens and helicopter blades began to accumulate, interrupting the jovial circus show.

The immediate response was the other 'Bots changing down to their alt-modes except for Optimus and I. He stayed behind, gathering the children while I dash around, looking for an escape route as I shift to my full height.

Somehow, the spotlights, people, and general crowd that you'd expect to react to a giant robot barely acknowledged my existence, instead focusing all the attention on Prime. Probably because I was more concealed than he was. I mean, come on, red and blue? He was only missing orange. Other than that I don't know how much louder his paint job could get.

Feeling a hint of danger, I began to lead him across the streets, around corners, and through shortcuts like a young girl maneuvering her father through a toy store. We ended up concealed under a concrete bridge, disappearing with the rubbish of the world. My thinner frame allowed me the ease of wedging myself between the two sides of the bridge's width, unlike Optimus, who had to hold onto the supports.

My spark was racing, hoping with its entirety that we wouldn't get caught. If I could sweat, I would've. So many things could go wrong. One little slip and it's bye-bye 'Bots. Talking myself out of these paranoid scenarios, I opened my optics and spotted the humans' grip slipping from Optimus' smokestacks. Why, universe? Why?

"Primus, Optimus! The children!" I whispered, turning his attention to them. Thinking quickly on my feet, I swung out, crashing into Optimus and barely holding the kids in my hand. I was only supported by the leg that the mech curled around me, my torso was slowly bending backwards from strain.

My hands were behind me, where I stopped the two's fall, but they were hanging onto my pinkie, dangling dangerously low to the helicopter blades.

"Guys, at least _try_ to hold on!" I begged them, pitying Optimus for having to stretch his strength in order to hold me with only a leg. "I'm not freaking Wonder Woman," I gritted through my teeth. When did my little trip to Earth go so wrong? Oh yeah, when I left the safety of my ship.

In the peripheral of my vision, I spied a bright-yellow car zooming in and transforming clearly for all to see. Again, universe, why? At that one moment, I couldn't have hated that little slagger more than I ever have in my life. Granted, he caught the gravitationally savvy humans but he risked his cover to the point where capture was inevitable.

The spotlights were the first to violate his freedom, the ropes where next. Every man-made object seemed to want to tear that innocent mech down. Consequently, it broke my spark with every chip of paint I heard scrapping off. I _tried_ to reach out to him, don't you dare doubt that for a split astrosecond. In fact, I was practically prying myself out of Optimus' horribly strong grip on me.

"Optimus! Let me go!" I demanded, on the verge of a breakdown. My fists found themselves pounding on his chest as I desperately fussed to save my little brother. I could see now that the humans were freezing the poor youngling. "No! Bee!" I screeched, my own audios whining from the feedback. "Don't do this to me! They're hurting him! Let… me… GO!"

But Optimus would have none of it. I'm pretty sure he even tried magnetizing me to himself. It wouldn't completely hold but it would lift some of the strain he had.

"Nova, what do you plan to do? You will only bring more harm to yourself and your comrades. It will not assist Bumblebee further if you interfere and upset the humans," he explained calmly to me, shifting his hold on both me and the supports. If I were sane, that would have made perfect sense. If.

"But at least it would be more than what you're doing," I spat out, ready to cry if only I could. "It would be doing more than anything you have done with this family," I said vaguely, referring to the obvious. He reeled back slightly from the depth of my words, his optics softening with the tinge of apology. I didn't care. I _couldn't_ care. Not when I chunk of my happiness was being ripped away.

My helm snapped to the pained and desperate whirring noises that my brother was making. I made optic-contact with the poor soul, and the look he gave me—one that wrenched my spark—made me double over and cling tighter to my stabilizer, but if only for the need of a solid ground.

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you…" I whimpered repeatedly, slowly simmering down to a simple sob.

"I only wish I could have prevented this," he murmured, pulling his hand down to either support me or comfort me. I took it as both, not really meaning my fury. It was all in the moment, what with my brother being hauled away to be tested on and all. "I am disappointed in my actions as well," he mumbled more to himself than to me afterwards. Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on the poor mech.

The helicopters and SUV's were still milling about so I shifted my position in order for me to support Optimus' weight instead of the other way around. The sound of his hydraulics hissing in adoration of the maneuver resounded, albeit embarrassedly.

Once the smoke cleared, Optimus swung down, me still attached. I shifted to my alt-mode and clung onto his shoulder as he moved to the other 'Bots. Jazz was the first to confront us.

"Are we just going to stand here and do nothing?" he asked, following Optimus across the bottom of the bridge.

"Of course we are," I answered bitterly. "We can't do anything without harming the humans, right, Optimus?" Was it uncalled for? In hindsight, yes, but I was fragging steamed at what this mech did.

My _brother_! The only one who shared the same energon that pumps through our bodies. The only one with the same genetic material that I was forged with. The only one who—ironically—could understand me better than he could understand himself.

"But, it's not right—," Jazz started, getting cut off in the process.

"Let them leave," Optimus directed emotionlessly, picking up the glasses that he spotted on the ground.

"Can I ride with Jazz? He understands priorities," I put out there, receiving only a signal from Jazz telling me that now was not a good time. "What does it matter?" I grumbled, tightening my grip on Optimus' smokestack instinctively. "We got what we came for! Why not give me to the humans, too? I'm sure they would want to test this freak of nature! At least there, I'd be wanted," I hissed at the pathetic mech surrounding me. He seemed to flinch and deflate with every sound that burst through my lips. Even Jazz looked surprised.

Regardless, the Autobots were ordered to transform and roll out. As much as I longed to ride in the cramped space of Jazz's cabin, the hospital floor scented seats that belonged to Ratchet, or even the rough, practically steel environment that survived inside of Ironhide, I was ordered to hitch a ride with Optimus.

Great, now we were _forced _to talk.

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Don't be a stranger ;D<strong>_


	10. Chapter 10

For the first half hour of driving in that awkward atmosphere, I stayed stubbornly silent. I tried my hardest to not give him the satisfaction of hearing me release the tension. Someone was going to break the titanium wall of stress and by Primus' nanny it wasn't going to be me. I'm sure it was hours before anything happened, but through a painful wave of courage, Optimus finally spoke up.

"I-I know you are angry, and I am aware that you loathe my accumulating negative actions. All of them." This took me by surprise, but I keep my bull-headed composure, if only for the purpose of consistency. "You have every right to be disappointed, I have given you so many reasons to be, but please, just listen to me."

Should I answer him? Maybe I should let this mech suffer a little more. But what if he's suffered enough? Oh well, there's no harm in giving him the relief of hearing my voice.

"Optimus, the only reason I am mad is because of your lack in acting. Sure, you're a great leader, but when was the last time you acted on something for you… for me? You know the feelings we've established for well over a multitude of vorns. It's so painfully obvious that it's killing me. I mean, unless you are oblivious to that fact—"

"I am not."

"—Then why are you so hesitant? What are you so afraid of?" I asked, pleading with my voice for him to see how easy this all could be. I tried to show empathy, but for the love of Primus, I just can't see through Optimus' optics.

"Nova, believe me when I say I have tried. But how am I supposed to compete with other mechs who are much more flexible for your needs? I am a Prime, meaning I have duties, priorities, to attend to. I do not want to have to be detrimental to _your_ needs or put you in anymore danger." He paused slightly, as if gauging my reaction.

"I have witnessed you with the other mechs, Nova. I have noticed how they react to you, no matter what you may believe. They could very easily take you away whenever they wanted to. You are, without doubt, a very special femme. I have seen you change someone's entire attitude and they would not even have noticed.

"You changed me. You have affected my life deeply, yet I know that I can do nothing to affect yours. What more can I give you?" he lectured sincerely, though I am yet to be moved. There were so many holes in his story, I don't know whether this was done out of love or fright.

The growing tension apparently did not sit well with Optimus.

"Nova, talk to me! This is what you have wanted, for me to finally tell you what it is you needed to hear. Why are you making this so hard?" he scolded in his calm way. I will never know how he does that. It scared me in a way, but I'm a femme, I know how to be scarier.

So, I started with a short, wry laugh. I could just taste the sweat metaphorically dropping from his forehead.

"You—You have had so many chances to open up!" I stressed, adding probably way too much emphasis on my words. "I can't be there forever, Optimus. I'm not your little fangirl, hanging on your every word. Do you know what I think when you don't do anything? I think that you just don't want me!" I argued with a thick voice, choking back the lashing anger spewing out of me.

"You presume that _I _do not want anything to do with you? On the contrary, it is you who seems to not want to take notice in me either," he stated calmly.

How could he be so fragging serene? I was about to blow up in his face with the false accusations he was pinning on me.

"Was it not you who threw herself around with every mech the first second you saw them? Every mech except the one you claim to actually mean something to you. Were you intentionally avoiding me?" I knew I was right. I knew that I was the one who was going to come out winning in this argument. So why did he make me feel like this was all my fault? Okay, maybe some of it was.

"You think… I've been ignoring you?" I started off quietly, collecting my thoughts. "Optimus, all I've done since I left was think of you. The only reason I did those vulgar things was to try and get you to finally talk to me. What else am I supposed to think when the love of my life doesn't come to my rescue when I'm dangerously close to being someone else's?" My back straightens as I receive a second wind, ready to end this pointless feud.

"I guess I should have known. It is apparent that I am not the best at conversing with femmes, especially beautiful ones."

And so the cheese started to flow. I could feel my cheeks heating, a glance at the mirror showed me that I was doing that blushing thing humans do. Now I just felt stupid.

"I have been under the belief that all this time, I should let you be free for you to be completely content. I feared that if I were to become involved with your life that much more, it could hurt you," he relayed, pondering on the lesson learned.

"Optimus," I started softly, laying a tender hand on the dash. "The most I'll ever want and ever need is you. You won't, _can't_, hurt me. But if you can't straight up tell me and the whole world that you love me, then what's the use of letting me be free? You're giving me two choices, but you're not letting me choose the one I want. I want to choose you."

Optimus bucked up minimally when I confessed my love for him. Mechs.

"But still," I said, dropping the hint of cheer in my tone, "why bother chasing something you're not prepared to catch? I never wanted anyone else, but I can't wait forever. What was your plan anyway? Socially reject me until I fall for someone else?"

Whoa, this question sure did bring back a lot of memories of a certain somebody that I let die. The memory was sluggishly rubbed away with me fearing that it would affect my current thoughts too much. Perhaps the passing street lamps could help distract me.

"Optimus, I left once, don't make me do it again," I told him in hopes that he _finally_ gets the idea.

"I will never let you leave again. Those few orns you were gone felt longer than all the vorns I have been a Prime. It was a pain worse than the near deaths I have experienced," he confided strongly, making me heat up ever the slightest.

"So, what's going to happen now? You go off and be a Prime while I'm forgotten on your trophy shelf, collecting dust for the world to see?" I asked sarcastically, placing my elbow on the window and propping my head on it.

"No, I do actually have a plan for us," he offered mysteriously, channeling his looser side. "And I can assure you it is better than the one you have described.

From where I'm sitting, I observed the radio flickering minutely, crackling to life. That's when I dread of what's to come. Knowing Optimus for etcetera years, when he shows affection, it gets cheesy, more often than not.

"Nova, I am utterly and completely in love with you, and no longer will I deny what we so obviously have," he spoke through the speakers, loud enough for everyone—'Bot and human alike—to hear. A collection of groans and "Finally" invaded the area surrounding us. I just laughed along with the rest of them, my body reaching maximum blushing temperature.

"Stop that," I giggled, softly slapping the radio. It automatically switched to a song, playing at a low volume. The lyrics still ran through my head despite its quiet nature.

_There's only 1 thing 2 do  
>3 words 4 you I love you<br>There's only one way to say  
>Those three words and that's what I'll do, I love you<em>

"Do you not appreciate my confession and promise?" he asked, mocking a hurt tone.

"Of course I appreciate it," I laughed breathily, "I just wish it was a little more intimate." My fingers rub the steering wheel lovingly, envying the day where I can stand to my full height and just be in this mech's presence.

"But you should know," I started randomly, "this doesn't repay your vorns upon vorns of neglecting me."

"Which is why I shall start paying you back now," he said in yet another puckish tone. Suddenly, a soft, magnetic pulse skirted through me as a flicker of light appeared in the seat next to mine. The light quickly accumulated to a familiar form, one of a man.

He was a very muscular male, the occasional vein decorating his arm. The hair resting on his scalp was soft and dark brown. This man was taller than me, if that was even possible. He looked worn out yet energetic, a small smirk bending the curves of his full, pink lips.

I didn't recognize his face. I've never seen him. I don't know what he was doing here. But when I saw the familiar sea-deep eyes casting a recognizably, endlessly blue shadow on me, only one name danced on the tip of my tongue.

"Optimus?" I whimpered, reaching over and caressing his face. It was warm, plush, and so, very real, yet it flickered momentarily when I made contact. "Wh-wha…?" I muttered, squinting in concentration.

"I will assume you have heard that Ratchet and Wheeljack have been working on a technology designated as holoforms? A select few have been chosen to beta this revolutionary program, but as you can see, there are still a few problems to work out," Optimus explained in a low tone, careful not to disrupt my currently unnerved state. "I am unable to enable it for a long period of time, but I figured that this would be an opportune time to test it."

"So, what are you waiting for?" I asked with a small grin on my face. He cocked his head to the side in such an innocent way, making me melt in an instant. Primus, he was cute. "Let's test it," I murmured, unbuckling and hovering closer to his face.

Like two leaves in a still pond, our lips touched, slowly at first as he tried to get used to his new body. But did it matter to me? Not at all, as long as we were just here, it was fine. The kiss was short but meaningful. It was a display of affection I've been waiting for from the day I knew I loved this mech. True, it wasn't as satisfying as it would have been in bipedal mode, but I wasn't about to complain now.

He pulled back then motioned to the steering wheel, sliding the both of us over.

"I cannot operate my holoform and my own self at the same time, it takes much concentration," he almost grunted out. Taking that as my cue, I take the wheel and work the pedals. It was only now that I noticed the lack of speed we had.

"And they let a Prime test this out? You're lucky I know how to drive a semi," I laughed softly, focusing more on my mech than the road. He visibly relaxed when I began driving, leaning back in his seat and inching closer to me. If it weren't for the flicker of his holoform every now and then, I wouldn't even have noticed.

Oh, he was good.

My attention drifted here and there, fluttering nervously at what had happened. The only thing that snapped me out of my reverie was the next song. Not only was it just a song, it was who the song was associated with. It was the song I shared with Riku.

Nostalgia.

Regret.

Pain.

Fear.

It all flushed through me in circular laps, making its way to my face and heart. I knew I looked troubled, but I did nothing to hide it. Apparently I didn't need to because the thing I spotted on the road took all my lingering thoughts away.

It was immobile, dirty, and no doubt bordering on its existence…

It was Riku.

My optics widened as a stomach-churning scream boiled from the bottom of my chest, climbing out of my mouth. The holoform that was lounging leisurely next to me disappeared as the brakes were slammed by my foot. I swerved onto the sidewalk, the 'Bots behind me following suit.

Sliding quickly out of my seat, I scamper to the frozen lump, cradling its marred head in my arms. The temperature of this male's body sucked the heat from mine. Memories along with salty tears visited me as I stared at the hopelessness etched in the mass I hugged in my arms.

"Optimus!" I yelled though keeping my optics trained on this man. "We need to help him! He's barely breathing!" Even as the semi-truck rolled near behind me, I could feel the uneasiness emanating from him.

"Are you sure we can trust this male to accompany us? There may be confusions that will end unpleasantly," he stated, the baritone voice Optimus owned vibrating my back. I could see where Prime was coming from. This was a stranger—and inevitably—a liability.

"Don't worry, I-I know him. There won't be any trouble," I rushed, mentally making a checklist of all of Riku's injuries. "Please," I stressed, "we need to stop and tend to this man now! I-I-I need Ratchet's help, a sterile environment, a couple bandages…" I started babbling.

"Nova, please, calm down," he shushed. "We will help."

Ratchet drove up with his back doors facing me. They popped open smoothly and an already lowered gurney rolled out. I propped Riku onto the gurney and raise it up as we enter the cab. The doors closed and we apparently head onto a more discreet location for me to tend to the human properly.

"Okay, Ratchet, I'm going to need some assistance here," I said, putting on my medical persona, forgetting the scared, little femme that I previously was.

"What do you need?" he responded professionally.

"I can treat the surface wounds but that's as far as my scans can go. You have to scan him and alert me of any internal problems." My optics dart around the supplies Ratchet had. The sanitizing equipment found a spot near me as I located the oxygen tank.

"There is not much damage, only slight bruising on his ribs and a sprained ankle," Ratchet reports.

"Okay, um, so you have any pain killers or that muscle heating stuff?" I asked, cleaning up exterior wounds. There really were only surface scratches, nothing to deep or infected, with the exception of a few nasty looking rips.

"Slag, femme, if I was a human doctor, I would know wouldn't I?" the medic snapped at me, making me scrunch a face at him.

"Fine, then I'll be the doctor," I muttered, stretching up to shuffle through the cabinets. Lucky for me, I found enough aces to wrap his ankle and ribs. I looked at my work and leaned back on the small bench there, glad that the hard part was over.

"We're stopping over, do you still need us to?" Ratchet asked me. I craned my neck to see where we were and found out that there was an old building waiting for us.

"Yeah, he might wake up any time soon and I want to be out in the fresh air when he does, not cramped in a small cabin… no offense."

"None taken," Ratchet replied, opening the doors as he stopped. The others had made some sort of wall between us and the road, concealing the deeds done here.

"Do you think there's anything in that building? Quite frankly, this human is dirty and needs a new set of clothes," I state, hopping out and pulling the gurney with me.

"By my readings, there is no one occupying the building but the security is active," he relayed to me.

"Hmm… and the level of security is?" I trailed off, letting him complete my sentence.

"Easy enough for a blind sparkling to override," he deadpanned.

"And off I go." As Ratchet said, the commands were easy enough to override, and I was granted instant access. As quick as a scurrying mouse, I nabbed a few clothes from unopened boxes and dashed out, turning on the security systems as I left.

I guess I looked a little odd, what with a woman hobbling in a tight miniskirt with men's clothing dripping from her arms. Nevertheless, I found Riku with Ratchet parked right beside him.

"Need help?" Ratchet teased, earning himself a quick glare from me.

"Unless you have a sponge, I want nothing from you, mech. Don't mouth off to me," I seethed kiddingly, squinting and pointing.

"It's in the back, youngling," he said with an obvious smile. "What do you plan on doing?" Ratchet asked me after I climb in and grab a large, soft sponge and a clean rag.

"I told you. I'm cleaning him up. Can you go ask Optimus if we can wait until Riku wakes up? It'll only be a couple minutes by my readings, and he needs to wake up to a friendly face. I don't think he's seen one since we lost contact," I said, dropping my voice down to a compassionate tone.

"Of course," he answered, getting up and walking over, most likely pondering on what history this male had with me.

I peeled off the tattered shirt he donned, witnessing something that both amazed and horrified me. The once perfectly carved muscles that he earned through his life were marred by the puss-filled wounds sprinkled about. I had no clue how I could have missed that but regardless, I start cleaning him off gently with the sponge.

A small wave of quirky and absolute girly-ness rushed through me as I realized what I was doing, but that faded quickly as I tried to remain professional about this. Still, I couldn't deny how attractive he looked, despite the wounds.

Once I began to pat him dry, the raw skin began to turn into a soft, throbbing red, reminding me of just how human Riku really was. What was I doing? He could get hurt or die! Frag, he already got hurt and most likely would have died!

"Oh, Riku, what happened to you?" I thought out loud, imagining what horrible, twisted adventure he must've gone through.

"I'll tell you if you stop pushing so hard on my wounds," a voice rasped, making me leap at least three feet away, landing on my bottom. Riku laughed weakly at my yelp as he tried to sit up. I quelled any thoughts of that, dusting off to go sit him back down. Of course, being the femme I am, I end up making him support my weight as my mass wraps around him in a bone-crushing hug.

"Calm down, I miss you, too," he chuckled breathily. This made me snap up and place on my most guilt-racking glare. There were questions, and he had answers. "Nova, don't give me that look," he started with a stronger voice than prior. "Nova, stop it. I'm serious," he tried again, trying to approach this death trap cautiously.

"How do you expect me to stop?" I snapped after a while. "You _died_! Or, at least I thought you did, but that doesn't matter! It still scared the slag out of me more than it should have!" I scolded, misplacing my anger onto him.

"Why did you make me worry?" I growled, irritatingly—though not painfully—smacking the unscathed part of his arm. "Where were you? What happened? How did you survive? How did you get here? Why is your English so good?" I demanded, one slap for every question. All I get in return was him smiling at me, amused by something or other. "Stop smiling and answer!"

"You are hilarious," he smirked, gazing at me.

My optics widen a little before my face shrivels into an annoyed set, and I stomp away. Only I didn't get very far when he caught me by the wrist, pulling me towards him.

"Don't leave, I'll tell you what happened," he offered sweetly, scooting over to make room for me. May I just say one thing right now? Riku is probably the most thoughtful person ever!

Anyway, he described a tale of how he found me unconscious on the beach and tried to get help. Riku was jumped by a couple thugs who decided to keep him as a punching bag. That's where he learned most of his English. Riku told me how he managed to escape their grasp, stumbling upon a lonely, old woman who took pity on him. She patched him up and taught him proper English. One day, the gang found Riku again and tortured him mercilessly for running away. They decided that he was no longer any fun and dropped him in the middle of the street to die.

"That's pretty much it. What about you? How did you venture the past few weeks? Where did you find me? And where did you get the stretcher?" he asked casually, as if nothing happened. I stared disbelievingly at this man, wondering what in the 'verse possessed him with such ignorance.

"You're asking me how _I_ am? You just suffered abuse from a street gang. A _street gang_!" I enunciated. "How are you not terrified right now?" I half yelled.

"I'm not afraid because I know you are safe. That was the only thing keeping me going," he said confidently, meeting my gaze.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Well, I figured that there was no way anything could happen to you because I would never let that happen. So, obviously, that meant I had a very good chance of finding you. You would only be safe if I found you, and I'd find you if you were safe. Now look where we are," he explained smugly, resisting my protests as he sat up, me sitting next to him.

I guess what Optimus said was true. I do affect people, more than I thought. My head turned away from Riku, ready to lay down the cold, hard truth. I couldn't lead this man on, it wouldn't be right. He's done so much for me and cares like there's no tomorrow. But what happened next made me explode with a million emotions at once.

Riku kissed me.

That's the moment I found out that… I was still in love with him.

That was also the moment when I found out… Ratchet witnessed it.

"Optimus said he will permit a temporary pause in our trav—," the medic stopped once he registered the events that occurred. Instinctively, I pushed Riku away, making an awfully loud smacking noise as our lips disconnected. "Nova, what are you d—," Ratchet started, only to be cut off by my sweaty explaining.

"Ratchet, wait, this is not what it appears to be. Give me a second to explain… to the both of you," I stated, looking each dead in the eye and optic, though Riku was a little bit hard to get to pay attention. He was muttering about robots, aliens, and impossibilities in Japanese.

"Optimus will not be pleased," Ratchet informed, looking both amused and shocked.

"I know, I know! Just, please don't tell him. Please!" I begged, trying to look very innocent and irresistibly adorable. The medic saw my dilemma and decided to spare me this once, going back to hide from us.

Turning to Riku, I took a deep, mind-clearing breath as I told him my story, who I really am, what I really do. He found out what the Autobots are, their cause, and the plan that we have to further it. And I tell him everything that had happened so far.

"So, y-you're one of them? All this time?" he asked in a terrified manner yet never moving away from me.

"I never wanted to lie to you but in my defense, I never knew I'd be in this deep. When I first met you, I thought that would be the last. This is still me, Riku. I'm still Nova. It's just, now you know that Nova is actually a twenty-eight foot robot."

"Did you keep anything else from me? Where you lying about leaving for love?" he asked gently, not accusingly.

"No, that was all true."

"Was that the guy you were talking about? The yellow one?" he asked, referring to Ratchet.

"Aw, gross, _Ratchet_? Pit no! That guy is way too old for me," I cringed, sparing no feelings.

"So… who _is_ the guy you were talking about?" Riku inquired respectably and a little inconspicuously.

"Well," I started nervously, "he's the leader of this whole operation," I bashfully muttered. Riku stared at me, mouthing the word "Leader." "Yeah, I think it might be best if… you try not to talk to him." My palms started sweating at the mere thought. Then again, they started sweating a long time ago, the cold, night breeze only serving to conflict my senses irritably.

"I stole a girl from the _leader_ of an advanced, alien species," he thought out loud, running a hand through his hair. "Heh, that's weaksauce. It's okay, I just need to be careful around the guy and try not to get stepped on, right?" he asked, pitch rising with every syllable. I offered an unconvincing smile followed by a nervous laugh. It was then that I knew the trip to the All Spark wasn't going to be a fun one.

This whole cube deal better be fragging worth the Pit it's putting me through.

* * *

><p><em>So what do you think? Not bad huh? Thanks for your support so far and, when I heard the Plain White T's album Wonder of the Younger, I just thought it was perfect for this story. P.S. The song used here is called 1234 by the Plain White T's and I do not own it.<em>

_**DarkAngelMel2**__, when I saw your comment about Riku, it took all the will power I had to not tell you that he was making a surprise visit in the story. _

_**QuirkyQuizler16**__, when I saw your comment, I had thought you somehow crawled inside my mind at foretold part of the plot O_o_

_**Mandipants24**__, I love that you love me, so now I give you some of my loves too! _

_**~Don't be a stranger ;D**_


	11. Chapter 11

_Hiya! Here's the new chapter of which y'alls shall be reading. I would like to give a personal shout out to __**DarkAngelMel2**__ because you, my friend, are awesome. You _are _a good reviewer. Lucky to have you stumble upon my story. Anyway, I just came back from a family vacation, and I now have some inspiration of what to write for the next story. But for now, my muse for this chapter was kinda mucky. Forgive me if it sucks a little but I tried my best to carry on with the plot._

_**Alter Ego:**__ Finally! You came back! You forgot to leave us some food when you left!_

_**Alter Ego#2:**__ It's okay! She's back now. Yay!_

_**Alter Ego#3:**__ Whatever. I'm hungry! Gimme food!_

_**Me:**__ Heh, sorry. I was in a rush when I left. But be happy, I just baked some cranberry muffins!_

_**Alter Ego#1&2:**__ Yay!_

_**Alter Ego#3: She doesn't own anything.**_

_**Me: **__=3=_

* * *

><p>After Riku was strong enough to get up, he hesitantly climbed into Ratchet's passenger side. It took him a while, but he finally got over the shock of a different species fighting to preserve the Earth. Guess what Ratchet was doing the entire time? Running tests… on the both of us… again.<p>

What was _I _doing the entire time? Trying to calm the frag down. Not even twenty minutes ago my life was beginning to become perfect then BAM! A metaphorical smack in the head. I tried this psychological trick a comrade of mine taught me once. All that I needed to do was take a deep breath and recap what had happened.

I lost the first love of my life, Optimus. I found a new one and lost him, too, Riku. My first love comes back and tagging along is my second love. Good: Optimus doesn't know about Riku and me yet. Bad: he could easily find out. Good: Riku is alive. Bad: Optimus might kill him.

I stop listing because this was kicking my paranoia up to rival the speed of the quickest car in both the European circuit and NASCAR combined.

The only good thing about our little stopover—besides the fact that I saved a life—was that I found myself a decent pair of shorts. They were a size too big and I had to use a scarf as a belt because, somehow, in a factory that sold clothing, there was not a single belt. I kept my shirt and lacey undergarment because, quite frankly, I enjoyed some of the attention it was getting. Optimus and Riku, however, did not.

What can I say? A femme is a femme, a mech is a mech—or in this case, a man as well.

During our drive to Griffith Observatory, Riku tried desperately to spark the old emotions he was hoping was still buried deep down in my soul. I couldn't help but think he was onto something.

"Remember when…" he'd often start with, trying so hard to find the Nova who had loved him. I was distracting my feelings from this mission by snarling at Ratchet whenever he'd try to pass off a snicker as a cough. Sometimes I'd even step on the brakes just to spite him, but I think that made Ratchet chuckle evilly all the more.

"If that make makes you feel uncomfortable, why don't you tell him?" Ratchet clicked in Cybertronian after one of his "Coughing fits." "I'm sure it would not be that terrible."

"This is a _human_ problem, Ratch. It's also a _femme_ problem. I would hope and expect you to know nothing about it. Just because you're a good medic doesn't mean you're a good guidance counselor," I snapped unintentionally. As sensible as his solution was, my femme CPU refused to succumb to this lowly mech. "Can't you make up some sort of excuse to get me in any other car besides this one? Not that I don't enjoy your company, I just need some time to think. This is too much stress for my puny systems."

"I'm not sure. You are still recovering from your malfunctions from earlier today. Your health might rebound as someone with your history often does," he reasoned.

"Ple-e-ease, Ratchey? For me-e-e?" I begged sweetly, rubbing against the upholstery near my foot. "If you love me, you'd do it," I tried to guilt.

"Fine, I'll let you go," he sighed, venting audibly. I'm sure he only agreed because I was starting to annoy him and not because I was successful at begging.

"I would like to take the time to thank Primus for getting me on your good graces," I kidded, patting the steering wheel.

"Riku," Ratchet started in English, finally catching the attention of the human who had tried to stay out of our conversation. "If it is all right with you, Nova needs to, um, plan out our next moves with our leader. Don't worry, you are in safe and capable hands here," he said smoothly.

He flashed me a questioning look and I smiled warmly to keep his troubles at bay.

"Good, let me just contact Optimus for a—"

"Ratch? Can you just drive up next to him? I really don't feel like getting down," I cut him off.

"Really?" he deadpanned, making me stick my tongue out at him playfully.

"Yes, really. Now go medic, I have plans to plan." Ratchet drove up next to Optimus' passenger window and I climbed out of my medic's window, sitting on the roof to regain balance. After I see Optimus roll down his window, I reached out to pull myself in, plopping onto the bench-style seating with a huff.

"Missed me?" I asked with a wide smile.

"Painfully," he retorted with an obvious grin. A long silence was put into place as Optimus was obviously thinking about something. I was about to speak in order to shift his mind from such heavy burdens, but then he spoke up.

"This human, you knew him?" he asked almost experimentally.

"Um, yes? He… helped me find the boy," I answered carefully, questioning this mech's train of thought.

"Did you… love him? _This _human, I mean," he clarified almost regretfully. This caught me completely off guard to the point where I was flapping my jaws open like a feeding fish. How would Optimus even _begin_ to make an inference like this? Was I that obvious? "Do you _still_ love him?"

"I-I-I…" I stuttered, unable to collect my thoughts.

"So you do," he stated dejectedly, slowing slightly and dimming minimally.

"No!" I snapped faster than I felt comfortable. "No, no," I breathed slower, "how could you say that? I love _you_, Optimus. Riku… Riku is the past now. That kiss we had could never change how I feel about you." So this was where I mentally punched myself in the gut.

"You… did what?" he asked. Many, _many_ things were so wrong at this point in time. I felt Optimus get rigid in both his driving and the complete aura he gave off.

"You didn't know that," I whispered to myself, optics shut, fists clenched, fearing what would happen. Maybe I should have stayed with Ratchet. I'd rather be poked and prodded than excluded like this.

The trip to the observatory was excruciatingly quiet. It only served to amplify the overworking gears and engine from the obvious stress Optimus had gained. I was so stupid! My mouth just had to keep gabbing when it should have stayed shut.

The sun rose, mocking me as it left to run from the scenario I was trapped in. The clock on the dash read ten when we finally arrived to our destination. Optimus transformed instantaneously, ejecting me forcefully from his seats. Hostility was still emanating from him.

"How is your plan working, youngling?" Ratchet asked as he came from behind, teasing me cruelly. I shot him a nasty look, folding my arms. This apparently sent some sort of signal to Ratchet as his smile dropped and he gestured for me to come closer. Of course, since I'm Nova, not only to I get closer to the hunched over mech, I shift violently to my full height, towering over him. No amount of vertigo can stop my rage.

"Nova, please calm down," he stated, trying to hide a sigh when I visibly relaxed and bent a little to be more level to him. "I know you may or may not have a grudge held against me for—more or less—ever when I explain this to you, but it had to happen."

I was getting a little unnerved by the tone he was using. This news is something I knew I wasn't going to like. Regardless, I tried to calm down so that I wouldn't lock myself in stasis if I overloaded with stress. Besides…

I could always murder Ratchet later.

"I told the human male your dilemma and that you've chosen Optimus over him. He was persistent in saying that there was still a chance between the two of you… so I told him the multiple problems and complications that would accumulate if he were to be involved with an intergalactic species." Ratchet seemed to back up with every word he said, anticipating the burning Pit I was going to bring down on him.

"Why did you tell him that?" I growled, gritting my teeth. "You are aware that _I_ was going to tell him this?" I said through my forced smile. His optics refocused a little, probably trying to figure out the safest escape route. "Now I have to clean up the mess you dug me into. Do you know how hard that's going to be?"

That was the rhetorical question that led to the beginning of my revenge. I stole a glance at the servo that held his rotary saw. As quick as Ironhide's dashes when he's being called for a checkup, I grabbed his hand, jab a few pressure points to pull out his saw, ready to inflict some major damage.

* * *

><p>"Pit, mech, what happened to your face?" Jazz asked after I finally let Ratchet go.<p>

"I tried to help that unforgiving, defected sparkling," the medic growled. I could feel the heat of his glare boring holes through the back of my neck.

Jazz burst out laughing, bending over with the momentum of his guffaws. "You got your aft whooped by a femme less than half your age!" he choked past the chuckles. There was an audible clang the resounded from behind me, and I saw Jazz rubbing the back of his helm while Ratchet looked smug.

"Regardless of her appearance, she is a demon compressed into a human, disguising as a femme. Would you stop laughing?" he snapped in tangent, straying a little from his embarrassment. "Maybe _I'll_ rearrange _your_ face plates the next time I see you in my medical bay," he growled, flipping his trusty wrench that seemed to come from nowhere.

Walking away from the bickering mechs, I went to look for a certain human, hoping to clear the dirt that Ratchet helped me dig up. It was easy enough to find him, sitting on the edge of the road, feet dangling through the railing that prevented anyone from falling to their demise down the rocky mountain. He was just staring at the city that decorated this planet, occasionally glimpsing at the famous Hollywood sign on the mountain adjacent from us.

I shifted down, taking a seat next to him, wondering how to start this conversation. Turns out, I didn't need to.

"I've always dreamed of coming here," he breathed, leaning his head against the rail. "Not just America, but California. But now I'm here, looking right at the Hollywood sign, unable to look anywhere else without seeing something glamorous, feeling like someone told me my family died."

"So, Ratchet told you?" I started softly, looking at the hazy horizon. Riku nodded just to the right of my peripheral vision. "Look, Riku, let me explain. What happened on the boat… on our journey… that wasn't fair." I tried to choose my words carefully, not wanting to give off the wrong message.

"When you found me, I was an emotional wreck. Think about it, I'm deprived of my senses on an alien planet that I have next to no clue about. Apparently, I let my primal instincts take over. I guess one of those instincts was to find compatibility, no matter where it came from."

Riku kind of quirked his eyebrow at me, probably lost with my linguistic choices. Sighing to myself, I try to explain from a different angle.

"Okay, you know when you told me that you would do the worrying for me? That, for the days I had with you, we would pretend that it was just us? Well, now our time of playing is over and now it's time to pay your debt." I didn't mean to sound like a heartless witch, but I wasn't about to sugarcoat the truth, and I knew Riku was strong enough to handle this.

"Maybe… Maybe if the circumstances were different. If I was from your world, if I hadn't known and done what I have… It could've been us. But, you need to understand that I have a history that's spanned longer than you've lived. I'm sorry but… I don't think I can change that," I let out, feeling the weight lift off my chest.

"Maybe _I_ can?" he hummed, the regular Riku popping out behind his melancholy. I couldn't help but smile at him.

"Sure, maybe."

As I said that, a small bunch of snickers were heard from behind me. So as not to alert Riku of my suspicions, I turn my head slowly, spying Ironhide and Jazz trying to hold back laughter. I cannot believe that Ratchet told them everything!

"But, Riku," I started, brushing off the two idiots giggling behind me. "I don't know if you can stay here. It's too dangerous. I should have never let you come with me in the first place," I said, running my mouth a little faster with every breath.

"No, Nova. You gave me a chance… I'm taking it. I don't care what stands in my way. I know what I'm doing," he said persistently.

"No, you don't. Riku, you almost died! You're getting yourself involved with a species that could easily step on you if not careful. Pit, I'm _still_ trying to be cautious of the humans that may get caught underfoot. I-I just don't want you to get hurt," I insisted.

"Nova, I'm too far in this to back out now. And if you don't want to believe that I'm doing this for you, then believe that this is for my family. I came to America with a purpose. Maybe that purpose was saving the world," he reasoned, standing with me, mimicking my actions.

"But, Ri—"

"Let him stay," Optimus interrupted, capturing our glances. "He is obviously passionate about staying here to help us for his kin; are we any different?" he asked me, most likely asking my very soul this question.

"I-I guess not," I mumbled, stunned a little at how the frag I just lost that battle.

"Thank you, sir. It will be an honor serving under you," Riku responded with a strong stance, looking Optimus right in the optic. Something inside me said that Riku probably had practice with doing things like this. I know that I for one am still unable to look that mech in the optic without feeling a drop of fear.

Optimus only nodded in response, retaining his regal air. "Please report to our medical officer, Ratchet. He will assess your abilities and assign you a task." Once the male was well out of earshot, Optimus turned to me, studying me for a while. Uncomfortable under his heavy gaze, I shifted upwards, letting the wind whistle through my interchanging parts.

"Is what you claim true?" he asked me, softening his gaze. I gave him a small nod, looking for all the world like a confused sparkling. "Perhaps you were correct. I may have been neglecting you to a point of which I have been chasing you away," he sighed, looking off to the side. "Not anymore. All of that will change, I can promise you," Optimus said strongly, looking back at me with fierce determination.

I don't know if it was the firm, commanding tone in his voice, the promise he made, or the look set in his optics but at that very moment, I melted like butter dropped onto a sidewalk in the middle of July.

"Thank you," I whispered, my spark tenderizing itself from the love that just emanated from him. This wasn't about lust at all. This was simply a mech protecting his femme. I stepped forward, snaking my arms around his neck in a tight hug. It took him a while, but he returned the gesture, cooling fans whirring faster than turbines on a jet. For whatever reason Primus decided to make up, when I stretched up a little to find a firmer grip, our chest plates scraped together and sent out a wild shock to my systems. It pushed me backwards to my death. Good thing Optimus was there to catch me.

"What the _frag _was that?" I screeched, gasping in air until all my systems were slightly less _on fire_.

"I—I am unsure," Optimus spoke, helping me regain balance. "Are you well?" he asked caringly.

"Am I _well_?" I repeated, ready to bite his helm off with sarcasm. "I was just repelled fifteen-some feet not only—," I stopped when something flashed in the corner of my vision. It was on my logistics screen, flickering in a static like motion.

Slowly, the static became clearer and vague sounds of whimpering could be heard. Sounds of human shouts were audible. Is this—? It couldn't be, could it? Am I—?

"Still synced up to Bee," I whispered, the picture in my head forming into a large, bunker-like room. You could imagine my excitement as I learn that my little brother was still alive. "Optimus," I gasped, snapping my helm towards him, "I know where Bumblebee is! He's being tortured by the humans in some sort of facility a couple miles from here. You have to let me find him! He is in trouble! I know where he is, please! I let him go once, I'm never going to do it again!" I babbled on, begging and pleading in every way I knew how.

"Nova, we have already located the All Spark," he started to explain to me slowly. This was going to end up in another declination, I could feel it. "There is no time to waste. Decepticons are most likely already on their way."

My spark breaks as I freeze up, quickly thinking off anything to help me out here. Jazz steps in and tries to talk Optimus into letting me go, but I managed to isolate myself from their conversation. My thoughts were leading to something progressive, I knew it.

"Optimus," I snapped up, stopping the chatter around me. "There was an agricultural farm not too far from here. I remember seeing that they had crop planes. I can take the plane and find Bumblebee. We'll rendezvous as soon as possible, I promise!"

"But you would still be alone. I will not have that, Nova," he insisted, hisses emitting from the moving extremities. "Take Riku with you," he finally told me, keeping a straight, leader-like face on.

"Are-are you sure?" I asked him personally, making certain that I wouldn't be stepping on any toes if I followed through with this.

"I am positive."

I turned to the human on the ground to see if he's up for the challenge. Riku just nodded at me with a grin, affirming his position on this mission. As if Ratchet had internal communications with him, Riku turned to converse with the medic about his health.

I swiveled back to my mech, hugging him tightly, though carefully, in case he might shock me again. "We'll come back," I whispered in his audio.

"Promise me," he whispered back, shifting his arms to further vanquish any gaps between us.

"Of course." I felt a small smile appearing on my face as I take in all that he is. Optimus pulled me away tentatively, placing two firm lip plates on mine. It was amazing, beyond description. Had I any choice, I would've melted on his feet right there. My knees weren't meant to hold me up in situations like this. The unbelievable part was how perfect our plates seemed to fit together, as if they were molded specifically for one another.

"Well, isn't that sweet," Ironhide commented, huffing lightly at us.

"Yo, shut up. They are tuh-_ry_-ing to have a moment," Jazz whispered loudly, bumping Ironhide on the arm.

"Not anymore," I grumbled, detaching the greatest wonder in my life from my lips. It didn't get any better when my optics angrily met with two idiots. "You know, you're going to get killed one day. The humans have this thing called karma, and the more you interrupt moments like this, the more bad karma you attract. It will kill you," I whispered eerily, narrowing my optics.

Out of the corner of my vision, I saw prods electrifying my poor brother, listening to the piercing whines scattering my processor.

"I really have to go," I barely breathed, taking a few steps before stopping. "How the frag am I going to get there?"

"There was a large farm that we passed on the way here. I'm sure they had a crop duster, you know, those planes. We could, um, borrow one," Riku spoke from his spot on the ground.

Well duh, I already knew _that_. Despite my annoyance, I didn't let it show. The mere fact that I could be reunited with my sweet Honeybee was affecting the way I thought. "Uh, we could make it from here. How far did you say it was?" I asked, calculating the distance.

"Not very. You could run to the farm right now and we wouldn't get caught," he informed, crawling closer to the outstretched palm I laid out for him. Slowly, I lifted my hand, careful not to disrupt the accustomed air pressure.

"Don't wait up," I whisper uneasily to those behind me, dashing to a sprint.

* * *

><p><strong>(Third Person POV)<strong>

"Why are we fighting to save the humans?" Ironhide grumbled, watching the purple femme blend into the horizon. "They are a violent and primitive race."

"Were we so different?" Optimus responded vaguely, resorting to one of his trademark lines that usually made the opposing force stop and think. In all honesty, he had a lot on his mind and just wanted Ironhide to shut up and cooperate.

It worked, at least. Ironhide side-glanced, unable to stare his leader in the optic.

"The only way of saving this world is destroying the All Spark," Optimus confided, knowing now that as painful as that thought was, he had to say it. He couldn't risk a thriving nation for one that was slowly dying. "If all else fails," he began hesitantly, regrettably speaking his mind, "I will unite it with the spark in my chest."

"That's suicide!" Ratchet interrupted, claiming the obvious. It was apparent that this problem had been plaguing his old friend for ages. Not just anyone would give their lives up so willingly for a cause that wouldn't affect them. "That cube is raw power. It will destroy you both."

"A necessary sacrifice to bring peace to this planet," Optimus rebutted stubbornly. He knew what he was saying, this source of life was just too much to waste.

"What about your femme?" Jazz finally added, no longer able to hold back. He had some valid points in store. "What do you think she's going to do when _everything_ is finally better between the two of you, and you get yourself killed? She's going to kill _herself_. Believe it or not but you _mean_ something to her… and you both mean something to us."

Optimus didn't respond, though he frowned at the statement, looking away from the rest of his team. There was only one answer to this. Sacrifices needed to be made.

"Jazz," he finally said, training his sight on the endless road. "We can't let the humans pay for our mistake." The leader took a deep breath before saying the words he was dreading for the truth behind its meaning was deadly.

"Keep her safe."

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Don't be a stranger ;D<strong>_


	12. Chapter 12

"Honeybee, if you can hear me, I'm on my way," I whispered confidently as I steered the small, dilapidated plane towards our destination. It was easy enough to take the plane. No one was watching it. In fact, the hardest part was taking control of the aircraft. Since I was an autonomous, robotic species, that wasn't too difficult either.

I could see the building that my brother was supposedly in past the blinding, orange dirt that spat upon our aircraft. As we traveled closer, I could see that hismetallic prison wasn't an ordinary building, it was actually a dam, pretty famous by my knowledge.

The plane was slowly losing fuel, the readings on the gauges clearly expressed that to me. I guess that's the reason why no one was really paying attention to this crop duster.

"Nova, I'm not blind. It's clear that we should be landing now," Riku reminded me, obviously as concerned as I am.

"And I'm not stupid," though I may be reconsidering that fact, "I said that I could transfer some of my energy into this thing. We'll be fine." I was honestly hoping he didn't see through my lie, but I wasn't ready to stop my rescue mission. Bumblebee was so close and yet so far.

"Uh, Nova?" Riku pipped up again as the unsettling shaking of our aircraft caught my attention.

"We're almost there!" I hollered back at him, both because of frustration and the need to be heard past the howling winds. Checking the gauges and the distance, I _know_ we won't make it. "Riku! We're going to have to jump out of this plane!"

"What?" he shouted at me, thinking I've gone insane.

"Don't worry, I can fly this thing so we're close enough to the ground, but we're going to have to jump right off!" I informed him, setting the plane so I don't need to steer anymore. Getting up, Riku followed my lead, albeit hesitantly. "Jump when I say go!"

I spied at the dam ahead of us. Maybe if I pictured the painful, jarring concrete as something much softer and welcoming, it would hurt as much. Oh, who am I kidding? This is going to feel like Pit. Currently, the plane was aiming straight for the wall. I climbed on top of the wing with Riku following suit. I'm not sure if he could feel it or not, but I know I had a death grip on his hand. It was probably the adrenaline numbing the pain.

"Nova, you're a crazy woman!" he bellowed as we near the dam.

"That's not the first time I've heard that," I answered right back, reeling back in order to shoot myself onto the safe top of the dam. "Jump!"

At that time, we both leaped off the plane. Time seemed to slow as I wondered if we were going to make it. Calculations repeated themselves in my head, checking over every variable. I pondered on the fact that perhaps I didn't have enough momentum when I jumped, what if we die because I was a centimeter off? Our rusty, red plane crashed into the indestructible dam like a piece of paper crumbling under the manipulative fingers of a human. Fortunately, we tucked and rolled onto the painful cement, right in front of two very familiar faces.

I've never been so glad that my body connected with the ground in my entire life.

"Well, that was cool," Mikaela said as Sam and she helped us up.

"You think? We've been practicing," I joked with a little wheeze tinged into my voice. Despite the pain, I crushed the two humans in a nostalgic hug, thanking Primus for their safety. "You guys had me so worried.

"We were more afraid of what was happening with Bumblebee," Mikaela whispered in my ear as I let them go.

"Where'd you come from?" Sam asked. "And who is he?" The boy started dusting some rubble off me, apparently trying to distract his mind. From what, I don't know.

"Him? He's the guy that just fell from the sky," I said plainly, smirking when Sam put on a serious face.

"Ha, ha, very funny. You know what I meant." There was just a hint of irritation in his voice.

"This is Riku, an old friend," I introduced. He shook the children's hand as they state their names. I cut myself out of their conversation when I heard the tapping of dress shoes and the clomping of heavy-duty boots come up behind me.

"Hey kids, I think we got off to a bad—"

Simmons didn't even get a chance to breath as I whipped around and punched his sorry face. There was no way I was going to let a devil like that torture my brother and get away with it. He staggered greatly from my blow and that's when I took the chance to tackle him.

"Gah! Someone get this crazy heart attack off me!" he screamed as I clung mercilessly to his back, choking the demon. Surprisingly enough, it was Sam and Mikaela who held me back while Riku pushed Simmons away from me.

"Let me go!" I grunted, struggling to free my trapped arms. "This slagging glitch is torturing my brother as we speak! Let me go!" I screeched, practically flying in the air as I tried to kick that poor excuse of a human.

"As of right now, young lady, our organization is not torturing _any_ person! Nor have we ev—Well, I can't really disclose that information," he stated, thinking slightly to the horrors he's probably caused.

"Nova, calm down, I'll talk to him. We _will_ get Bumblebee back," Sam whispered in my ear firmly, just as determined as I was. Riku wrapped his arms around me when I visibly tensed, in case I might gain a second wind and try to snap Simmons' neck.

"Now, as I was saying before I was so _rudely_ interrupted." He made it obvious that this comment was directed to me. "You kids want anything? Food, coffee, candy? Whatever it is you people like nowadays. Point is, I'm trying to say sorry here." It absolutely boiled my blood at how transparent his lies were.

"Where's my car?" Sam blurted out.

Well, that was straightforward. A random man that arrived with Simmons stepped towards us, apparently there to answer our questions. I read his I.D. once it came into clear view. Tom Banachek.

"Look kid, you need to listen very carefully. People can die here. We need to know everything you know and now," he demanded in a controlled, respectable voice.

"All right, we'll tell you. But first, I want my car, my parents, you should write this down," Sam insisted confidently, knowing that it was us with the upper hand. "Oh, and her juvie record? Yeah, gone, like, forever." The two kids smiled at each other at this.

While I didn't want to be rude, or at least _ruder_, I gave a small cough, urging Sam to go on.

"What? Oh yeah! The Autobots, you've got to be nice to them. They won't hurt you if you don't hurt them, or at all really." Those were the last of his terms.

"The Autobots, huh? Well, here, they're called NBE's. Not Autobots, Lugnuts, or even Boltbags! There's no way we can agree to that!" the annoying human barked, butting into the civil conversation Sam was holding with Mr. Banachek. I stepped up swiftly with a speed that shocked even me. Riku didn't even have time to blink before I escaped his grip.

Gripping Simmons tightly by the collar, I growled, "Look here, human, you are _very_ irritating." The funny thing about this scene was that absolutely no one stepped forward to detach me from the man quivering under my grip. "I've got information spilling out of my aft, and if you want any of it, you're going to have to make a treaty right here, right now. Trust me, you do _not_ want to be enemies with the wrong side."

Riku slowly started to wrap around my free arm like a gentle octopus, worrying greatly of my mental state. I pushed the filthy organic away from me and recline slowly into Riku's hold, seeking comfort from his warmth.

"Come with me, we'll discuss your terms," Banachek affirmed solidly. Why couldn't Simmons learn a lesson or two from this man? As I passed him, I heard a faint whisper escape his lips. "Who the hell crashed a plane on the dam?"

We were led into a huge room that looked similar to the one Honeybee was in. He must be close.

A whole group of people that varied size, shape, color, and state of clothing joined us. By what I know, apparently a few military men were joining us. I had a feeling that we weren't really going to discuss our terms.

"What you're about to see is top secret! Totally classified!" Simmons shouted so we could all hear. His voice bounced around the room, dying only when it came into contact with the sounds of other men working.

"Say that louder, I don't think they heard you all the way from New York," I grumbled, unknowingly still clinging to Riku. Simmons had explained that every person in our group had contact with the "NBE's." It frightened me at how large the group was. What has Optimus been doing when I wasn't there? Holding a party?

"Nova, I may be wrong, but I don't think that now is a good time to mouth off to an obvious figure of authority," Riku warned me with a warm smile, looking down at me. I let go of him and tried my best to return the facial gesture.

"Sorry, this guy just, ugh, really… _irks_ me," I explained, trying not to explode again.

"You too, huh?" a man who was standing next to me said. "Lennox," he introduced, holding out a hand.

"Nova," I returned shaking his eerily firm hand. I don't need to be a human to know that this man was terrified, unnerved, and just plain broken on the inside. It must have something to do with the fact that he met a couple "NBE's."

"Why does this joker have a messed up face?" he asked in a whisper to which I responded with a shrug.

"I pitied him, so I didn't screw that mug up too much." Lennox looked at me with a brief set of wide eyes. "He beat up and tortured my defenseless brother who's currently being held here. Don't tell anyone, but I'm trying to bust him out."

He made a silent "Oh" and I gave him a sad sort of smile.

"I've experienced something like that, too. I won't rat you out, you know, as long as we're not talking anything too illegal here. I still am an officer of law," he told me, somewhat unsure of what action to take with me.

"I only want to go back to a worry-free life with my dear, little brother. Then again, it's been so long since I've had that, I can't even remember what worry-free feels like."

"Huh, Nova, you're a good kid. If we're ever out in the field, you can bet I've got your back," he said sweetly. Apparently, I'm a lot like this human than I think.

"We'll be seeing a lot of each other, then," I muttered vaguely, walking off, leaving him with more questions than I had answers. Our two tour guides where chattering on about something in the middle of the room, but I really hadn't paid enough attention to what it was.

"Holy mother!" I gasped out, ducking behind Simmons once I figured out what it was. Or more like, _who_ it was. "Freaking kill it, kill it, kill it!" I screeched in a pitch higher than I thought possible. The man acting as my only protection from this monster leaned away from my head, soothing his marred ear. "Sorry," I apologized, realizing now that I had been crying out straight into his ear.

"As I was _saying_, NBE-1 has been in _cryostasis _for quite some time," he grunted through his teeth, stressing the keywords to me despite the fact that he was giving the information to everyone.

The others stepped closer to inspect this large, frozen object. Riku walked over to me, checking if I was fine. Apparently, I must have looked one or two notches unhinged. A large, very built man stepped up to me next.

"Hey, miss, are you all right?" he asked in a caring voice, reminding me very much Jazz.

"Y-yeah, I'm good. Just… a little shaken," I unintentionally whimpered, replaying the last five seconds in my head, living through the emotion over and over, unable to stop the horrible loop.

"Um, sure. Take it easy, girl," he returned, eyeing me cautiously. This man patted me on the shoulder awkwardly, probably hoping that his much more collected state of being would rub off on me.

"Cryostasis, I knew that. Yeah," I muttered, trying and failing to calm my nerves. As physical proof of that, I follow closely behind him like a scared child. He didn't mind at all, not even when I clutched his arm to peek over his shoulder.

A small chuckle was his response, along with saying, "The name's Rob. You can call me Epps."

"Nova," I breathed with a smile, "pardon my fright, but that mech and I just don't have good history, if any at all."

"You know that thing?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Technically, I know _of_ him. But that's enough to haunt my ancestors and future descendants," I exaggerated.

"I could imagine," Epps mumbled, turning towards the front when Sam started speaking.

"Sir, I don't mean to correct you on anything you know, but that's Megatron, leader of the Decepticons," he clarified. My new soldier friend and I share a look when the words "Leader" and "Decepticons" materialize. You don't have to be a Cybertronian to know that there was some grade-A bad news happening here.

"Fact is you're looking at the source of the modern age. Microchip, lasers, space flight, cars; all reversed engineered by studying him," Simmons cut in, completely ignoring Sam's valid words. "_NBE-1_, that's what _we_ call him."

"So, why Earth?" Lennox asked, letting all this finally sink in.

"It's where the All Spark is," I spoke up. He looked confused when it was me who gave this little tidbit of facts. I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I don't look _that_ stupid. At least the Secretary of Defense had the courtesy to accept it and move on.

"And the All Spark is?" he asked, leaving the question open-ended for me to close.

"It looks like a huge cube. It's the source of life on the planet of Cybertron, and _he_ came here to use it for his own evil purposes," I growled, stepping out of my hiding place to emanate hate onto that distinctive enemy.

"And Mr. NBE-1, A.K.A. Megatron, that's what _they_ call him," he said, gesturing to me, though Simmons had no clue why _I _was associated with this, "is pretty much the harbinger of death. He came here to transform all of Earth's technology to take over the universe."

"Yup, that's their plan," I exhaled, backing-up his statement.

"You sure about that?" Simmons asked us.

"One hundred percent," I answered right away. He and Banachek share a glance with wide eyes. It was very clear that they knew something… something important. Gasping silently, my optics expanded as well. Sam seemed to catch my drift.

"You know where it is… don't you?" he asked skeptically, earning a nod from Banachek.

"Follow me," the man said promptly. He led us to a cramped office which overlooked a large area. Although I was unable to see out the window due to all the humans in my way, I knew that the All Spark was close. I could feel the energy. I could _taste_ it. Like a fresh breath of air on a breezy spring day, my spirits were lifted by the mere knowledge of what was near me.

Our life source, our life blood, the apparatus of our creation.

That beautiful cube called out my name, it whispered the sweet notes that attracted me. I glided through the crowd, swimming past the humans until I could view at the All Spark in all its glory. Never have I seen it so close and never have I been this enlightened.

The glyphs that glowed and glistened just for me greeted my sight, trapping me in a jail of awe. How I wanted to learn the language of the Primes in order to be able to decipher the code it was decorated with.

"This is what you came here for?" Riku asked me quietly as Banachek explained things that mattered not to me.

"It's a gift from the original Primes, from Primus himself. That cube has spoken to the greatest of the great. You don't know how much that means to me," I explained in half a daze, drooling on and on about this magnificent object.

"What type of energy does it hold, exactly?" a blonde girl with a distinct Australian accent asked. Before I could answer, Banachek does it for me.

"Good question," was all he said before we began to follow him into a tiny, heavily secured room. They said that they've managed to focus the energy of the cube into a miniscule box. If only they knew how to unlock its full potential.

We stepped in, door shutting and locking behind us. It surprised me for whatever reason and I magically find Riku's arm to cling to.

"Why do they need to lock us in?" he asked me, probably just trying to get my mind off other worries.

"Well, if they're harnessing the All Spark's energy, then there is a good chance that whatever is in there," I said, pointing to the small, transparent box in the middle of the room and tracing the wire back to the cube outside, "will end up out there, destroying everything it sees."

A couple others started looking at the walls that looked like I was talking to since I have yet to take my optics off it. My fingers gently trace the scratches and dents, wondering what poor, tortured soul had caused this.

Simmons asked us if we had any small electronics on our person. Someone gave their phone, unaware that they will never see it again. Bad idea, guy.

"Ooh, Nokia's are real nasty, but you have to respect the Japanese for they know the way of the samurai," Simmons whispered seriously as he placed the phone inside the box.

"What's he talking about?" Riku questioned.

"Nokia's are from Finland," the blonde woman added.

"Let's let him dream a little. He deserves some compassion regardless of the fact that he probably got this job on an accident," I said, earning a smirk the delicate woman standing next to me.

"He's a little… little strange," the secretary said to which we all snickered silently to.

A little nozzle-like thing zapped the unsuspecting phone into existence, forcing life into that poor soul. The infant life-force snapped into reality, firing at any and every thing. He was so terrified.

"I'm so sorry they had to ruin your perfectly normal life," I whispered, noticing only now how everyone automatically took a step away.

"Nasty little sucker, isn't it?" Simmons commented, watching with glee at how the people feared.

"How could you say that? He's adorable," I cooed, pitying harder by the second. You have no idea how much I wanted to let the little Nokia out and comfort its fragile, new mind.

"That thing is freaky!" the blonde woman gasped.

"He's practically a baby, he won't hurt you," I consoled her with, obviously not making much of an impact as this new creation's bullets continuously fired. Simmons happened to catch this quickly.

"It's a killing machine! An itty-bitty energizer bunny from hell! And you have the nerve to call it cute?" he asked dramatically, oozing disgust for my opinion. "I mean, look at it! It's breaking the box! It could kill you at any time!" he screams, emphasizing my excluded perspective.

"He is not an it. He is a he. And his name is… Sweetie, what did you say your name was?" I questioned the little 'Bot calmly. He clicks in the only language he knows at the time, which is barely a language at all. In fact, the clicking was just a way for me to decode what he wanted to say, sort of like Morse code.

"His name is Jeffy… roughly. Isn't that right, Jeffy? You have rights, too, huh? Yes you do, yes you do. Don't let that old crab call you mean names," I baby-talked, half in English and half in Cybertronian. My new pal seemed to release the tension in his chassis.

"This chick's a whack-job," Simmons whispered sharply at Banachek, slapping a light palm to his face. "Ugh, the thing's breaking the box," he alerted someone, causing another zap to appear and freeze the innocent thing.

I, for one, was appalled at what just happened before my optics. It resulted in me gasping horribly loud and glaring hate into the man responsible.

"Did you just do what I think you did?" I growled, fighting to not punch him again. "You fragging killed a sentient being! What if I came to your planet and started killing every baby I see? Maybe I'll go do that now, you good-for-nothing, son of a…" I started muttering, stomping angrily toward him.

"Nova," a strong voice stated, grabbing me and holding me close. "Now is not the time to make a scene. These people are currently in possession of both your brother and your life-blood, I don't think it would be smart to start a fight with them," Riku whispered so close to my ear that it tickled, but I made no obvious gesture to acknowledge that. Regardless, he was right.

"Fine," I grunted, glaring at Simmons angrily. "But I swear, once you become expendable, human, I will get rid of you," I growled at the old man.

He visibly mouthed to the man next to him , "What's she talking about?" I think he saw me as a mentally unstable freak. Finding this male uninteresting now, I wiggled out of Riku's grip and head back to the line of people.

"Hey, you," I said to a rather chubby man. "Was that your phone? Are you Glen?"

"Uh, yeah, why?" he asked, eyes darting nervously around.

"You know, Jeffy was telling me about how you talk an awful lot about a girl named Maggie. Sounds like you like her. If I were you, boy, I'd just ask her out," I advised. The blonde haired woman standing behind him blushed terribly, smiling a little. It didn't take me long to put two and two together.

When all seemed peachy in our unsettling, metal room, the lights that provided us sight started flickering, a few specs of rubble drifting from the dusty ceiling. Something big has happened, that's for sure.

"Ugh, you idiot," I shout over at Simmons, "why didn't you just let my brother go and give me the All Spark when you had the chance? Now the Decepticons are here and half the population in this building will more or less die within the next thirty minutes!" I snapped, looking around awkwardly as I see that I've disturbed a few people.

Banachek, being the ever forward thinker he is, pushed a button on a small speaker and asked what was going on. The speakers on the other end relayed information regarding the generators not working in the NBE-1 hangar.

"Told you they were coming. That's about three people gone already." This time, Riku looked at me, trying to shut me up. "Sorry," I mumbled, wrapping around his arm as I was getting more and more nervous.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, ignoring the words that were being exchanged by the military men and the government officials.

"Honestly?" No. I'm not a soldier, I never was, despite my crazy job history. I didn't ask to be in a war and yet here I was. Technically, I'm still a civilian, a scientist… a lackey. "I just want to go home alive." I was—no—_am _defenseless. What the frag was I doing here?

The others were looking for an arms room, anything they could get their hands on to defend themselves. Ironically, the most artillery-stocked room was right next to the big baddy himself. Everyone seemed to be little kids at a candy shop, grabbing everything and anything they could. If I couldn't do slag to protect myself, I do some slag to at least protect my little Honeybee.

"Simmons, you've got to take us to Bee," I told him seriously. He just looked at me funny again. "Come on! The car, man, the _car_! Take us to my fragging brother!"

"Okay, what is it with you and being crazy? I swear that I will find the mental hospital you escaped from and pay them to keep you under better watch. Look, the car's confiscated anyway!" he yelled, loading his weapons simultaneously.

"Hey! There is a war going on right now! You better get that car and _un_-confiscate it!" Sam demanded, walking up next to me.

"Well, see, we don't know what will happen if we do—well, maybe you do—but we don't! So, there's your dilemma…" he argues half-heartedly and rapidly, focusing more on ammo than the principality of this conversation.

"You just want to sit here and wait to see what happens? He's going to know what to do with the cube!" Sam argued.

"I have people's lives at stake here! You heard your freaky friend!" Simmons yelled, pointing a finger at us. Suddenly, Lennox stepped between Sam and me and grabbed the panicky man by the collar, helping us win with his words.

I'm not exactly sure what happened in the next few seconds except for the fact that everyone was pointing a gun at each other. If there was a loop, I would be so far out of it.

"Simmons," the Secretary of Defense spoke, "I'd do what he says. Losing's really not an option for these guys."

I placed a hand on Lennox's shoulder and mouthed "Thanks."

He winked at me and mouthed "Got your back."

"All right, wanna lay the fate of the world on the psychotic kids' Camaro? Sure," Simmons squeaked while eyeing us and the gun pointed to his chest. We started sprinting once more to another room, the same one I saw Bee in.

The people in front of me didn't matter as I pushed them away, desperate to reach the poor, little 'Bot being tortured in that horrible place. I wished that my legs could go faster or at least that my strides were wider. Riku was keeping up with me. I'm pretty sure he could sense that I was on the verge of losing my mind.

We finally reach the room and sure enough, my brother was lying there in the middle of the room… strapped down on a table, being harmed in every way possible. I could hear the pure panic coming from his voice. A tear dared to escape my optics.

"BEE!" I called until my vocals couldn't take it anymore as I ran and shifted into my robotic self, releasing him from this Pit. The yells of frightened people went past my processor as I noticed only the soft trembling in Bumblebee's chassis.

"O-o-oh, well, that explains a lot. So much, so much explained," Simmons muttered as he gazed up at me. "Did you see that coming? I didn't see that coming. Whew, what a week." Every human in that room told the workers to stop freezing Bumblebee. If only that was all it took to set peace in the youngling's mind.

"Calm down, Honeybee. It's okay, Nova's got you," I cooed, grabbing his shoulders. He felt so tense, so changed from not only the last time I saw him, but also from before the war. Where was my innocent, little sweetspark? "Honeybee, it's me," I said firmly, looking him straight in the optics. "Sam's here, too. No, don't look at the other humans, they won't hurt you anymore, I promise." I pulled him into a tight hug, feeling the slight burn of the ice that was previously being sprayed onto his armor.

"Primus, how did I let this happen to you," I mumbled, hating myself for ever leaving him alone. "Honeybee, they've got the All Spark. They're going to take us to the All Spark." I pulled him out of the hug and tried to get him to focus a bit. "I need your help, the 'Cons are coming, and you know more about the All Spark than I do," I hummed softly.

He gazed into my optics some more before he confidently removed his battle mask and whirred confidently.

"Love ya, Bee," I smiled, getting up from my knees and following the humans back to the All Spark. We stood under the glorious cube, completely captivated by its mere presence. It zapped me every so often, energizing me. The metal in my frame and armor felt reinforced, stronger. I wasn't as hollow as I was when I first became a techno-organic. It's as if I've been recharged.

We moved glyphs and sections accordingly, making the cube fold in itself, ultimately landing in Bee's hands. As we turned, the humans were starring at us in wonder and amazement.

"Message from star fleet, captain… Let's get to it," Bumblebee exclaimed from his radio.

* * *

><p><em>There ya go! Almost the end of the story. Just a few more chapters. Thanks for your reviews and support! <em>

**_~Replies~_**

_**DarkAngelMel2:**__ There will be other holoforms but in a different story since this story is wrapping up a little. Thanks for all your great input and enthusiasm. I can't help but smile a little whenever I read your reviews._

_**Kruix: **__Thanks for giving my story a shot. I'm glad you liked it. It means a lot to me._

_So until the next chapter, REVIEW! *please*_

_**~Don't be a stranger ;D**_


	13. Chapter 13

_My, my, I'm lovin' the support you're giving! Thanks for being awesome! So, as a treat, I'm going to personally say thanks. You, reader, the person reading this, I am personally thanking you and no one else. Only you._

_**Alter Ego#3:**__ You can't move them with that crap._

_**Me:**__ Shh! I'm trying to reach out into my demographic and give them a mind hug. *stares hypnotically at you*_

_**Alter Ego#2:**__ Is it just me or does it seem that Optimus really likes to take his sweet time before doing any actual fighting. He always gets there so late._

_**Me:**__ Wow, random much?_

_**Alter Ego#2:**__ Meh. You want random?__** She now owns the company Hasbro and rights to Transformers. Loljk!**_

* * *

><p>"Okay, we need to move. We're screwed with Megatron in the other hangar," Lennox said, snapping everyone to attention. "Mission City is twenty-two miles away. We're going to hide the cube somewhere in the city. But we can<em>not<em> make a stand without the Air Force."

"There's got to be some sort of radio link in this place," the secretary spoke up. "Shortwave, CB!" Simmons kept agreeing as if his life depended on it, which it did.

"Sir, you gotta figure out something to get the word out. Let's move!" Lennox commanded, quickly jogging towards Bumblebee as Sam, Mikaela, Riku, and I get in. The others followed Simmons into the alien archive.

"Warning! NBE-1 cryo-containment failing!" a loud alert informed as we sped off. My head is going crazy with everything that's going on.

Megatron is melting in the same room we were just in. He's looking for the All Spark that's sitting right next to me. The Autobots are on their way towards us. Good: Megatron doesn't know who has the All Spark or where it is. Bad: He can easily find it. Good: This battle will end today. Bad: We don't know who will win. Bad: Death _will_ happen.

I looked to Riku with fear glazing over my optics.

"Nova, everything will be all right. No one is hurt, we can get through this," he comforted, firmly gripping my arms.

"How are you so calm? One of the most feared Decepticons is looking for us! People will die! Countless innocent lives lost!" I breathed, slightly going into hysterics.

"You have been so strong in the past, couple months that I've known you! You can be strong now!"

"N-no, I can't, I can't!" I muttered, shaking my head in denial. That's when he did something all the things I thought I knew about Riku, this struck me the other way. Quite literally actually. He slapped me.

"Damn it, Nova! Snap out of it! You've been through too much to be doing this right now! Also, I apologize for hitting you!" Yup, that got my attention. Bumblebee kind of whirred dangerously as the children in the front seat pretended not to hear us.

"Ugh, you fragging glitch, that hurt," I hissed, rubbing my face. I notice the look of relief Riku was displaying. With a short laugh, I scoffed, "Thanks."

"I'd hate to break up your reality TV moment, but we've got some business to attend to," Sam said impatiently as the commotion of a thawed Megatron could be heard. "Is the cube okay?"

"It's fine," Mikaela and I chimed in chorus.

"Well, put a seatbelt on it," he demanded nervously, taking a small peek at it.

"Really?" was all I had to say.

"Better safe than sorry," Mikaela commented seriously. Without hesitation, I buckled it up. Humans can be amusing sometimes.

As we sped down the road, a few cars entered our peripherals, driving with beautiful precision. There are only five drivers on Earth I know who could do that.

"There's Optimus," Sam exhaled, watching all four cars turn sharply to get onto our side of the street. A highway replaced the barren, desert road we were on and a siren began to wail at us. "Oh no, it's the same cop from before."

I turned around, spying a few 'Cons on our tail. One of them was really causing mayhem, Bonecrusher. He was flipping cars left and right.

"No!" I screeched at the grotesque sight of all those lives dispersing under his arm. "I need to stop him!" I tried to get out of the car, but Bumblebee was persistent on making me stay. "Honeybee, please," I clicked in a whimper. He finally let my seatbelt go but another force prevented me from leaving.

"What are you doing? Let me go," I told Riku calmly, slowly removing his hand from my shoulder.

"Wait, no, before you go. I-I don't know what's going to happen or if I'll ever see you again. There's something you need to know." He took a deep breath, his gaze boring deeply into mine. "Nova, I'm never going to stop fighting for you. I may not have you as I wanted, but I'm glad I still have you at all. Know that whatever I do, I'm doing for you," he told me sincerely.

"Psh, sap," Sam mumbled, earning a smack from Mikaela.

"It's sweet, Sam, and it wouldn't kill you to try something like that once in a while," she whispered.

Before he let me go, he brought my face up to his, sealing his words with a kiss, one that I don't resist. I'm not sure what Bumblebee is thinking about all this, but quite frankly I don't give a frag.

"I just needed to do that, one last time," he confided before dropping his grip on me. His confidence gave me strength, the will to fight. He was one more person I had to live for.

"See you guys later, hopefully." I exited the car, transforming into my bipedal mode. By then, Optimus had changed as well.

"I will pursue the Decepticons. Keep the humans safe!" he hollered before getting tackled onto the highway below us. I hastily skirted around, turning over cars and fixing pileups. My main focus was to tail those two and prevent more fatalities. In my mind, I counted all the deaths I saw. So many families were going to go home with a person or two less than before. I know what that feels like. I know how mentally and physically scarring that can be.

I did't bother to follow Optimus anymore, seeing as he's doing fine. The humans seemed to get the idea and steered clear from their fight. Looking for the others, I glimpse at a black object ahead of me. Running towards it, I started to shift, jumping into its bed at the last possible second.

"Nice to see you could make it," Ironhide said as I climbed through his window.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," I answered.

"Where's Optimus?" he inquired.

"Taking care of business." We stopped in the middle of a crowded city so the humans could grab some radios. "The fleshies are getting jets as backup, right?" I asked Ironhide, looking up at the sky.

"Yes, why?" he questioned curiously.

"How come there's only one?" My attention is directed at the sky where a lone F-22 Raptor was cruising the skyline. It's seemed to be an innocent ally… until it started firing at us. "I better get an Oceanside vacation for going through this and I'm serious," I muttered angrily. I honestly wasn't kidding.

"Take cover," he told me as he, along with the others, shifted to their bipedals. "It's Starscream!" he bellowed loud enough for all to hear. "Back up! Back up!" Bumblebee and he tried lifting a truck to deflect Starscream's shots, but it didn't work as well as planned. They were both blasted backwards, along with the rest of us. The blast wave was enough to send my mind into a gut-purging spin.

I'm knocked down near Bumblebee, my head pulsing a mile a minute. A few seconds passed before my vision refocused and zeroed in on an unharmed Sam and Mikaela. Riku and Bee, although, were not in the best condition.

"Oh, Primus," I gasped as Sam and I ran up to the big, yellow 'Bot. His legs were completely chopped off. It tore my spark to see such a young mech in pain like this.

"Nova, don't worry about me. Riku is in dire need of attention," he strained out, pointing behind him. I draw a sharp breath in as the image before me burns into my skull. This time, my spark did flips inside of me, turning and contorting into painful positions.

Riku's head had a large, gaping hole on his cheek along with a deep cut on his forehead. A gigantic shard of glass went clean through his thigh. Not to mention, his arm was twisted and bent way out of shape. I was almost certain that these were only the _few_ injuries that I could see.

I tried picking his head up gently, though he groaned in pain.

"No, no, no, don't you dare die on me," I ordered, hoping that he would listen. The tears that welled up inside of me fought to be released, ultimately spilling onto his dirt-stained face.

"Nova," he croaked, eyes shutting slowly. "You need to keep going. Don't let me slow you down. I'm-I'm not going to make it."

"Yes, you will! You just need to stay with me! Don't let your guard down!" I shouted directions, somehow knowing that he wouldn't follow any of them.

"Stop thinking so much," he chuckled weakly. "Tell my family… I love them… and tell them not to worry, I died peacefully."

"How can you still be so calm? You were flung several feet in the air," I disputed, subconsciously thinking that if I kept talking, regardless of the fact that I was arguing with him, he'd always be there to answer back, thus maintaining his life force.

"Because I'm with you, and I'll be with you until the last breath of my body goes out." He paused to take a painful breath in. "Nova… I-I loved you fr-from the moment I s-saw you… and I always w-will." His eyes closed, his heart stilled.

"No. No, no, no, NO! Don't do this to me! I need you to be strong Riku! For me! Wake up! Wake up. Wake… up!" I scream, placing down his head and crying heavily on his chest. Then I stopped. "No, I can't do this," I spoke strongly.

He wouldn't want me to do this. He wanted me to be strong. I can't rely on his strength anymore. There's a war going on and I need to win it.

For Riku. For the Autobots. For the humans.

Looking back at him one last time, I stood up. Bumblebee was still in the same spot I left him, legs missing and all. "Hey, are you okay? Can you get up? For the love of Primus, Bee, your legs," I stated, reaching out to assess the damage.

"I'll be fine," he answered me with a soft chirp. "Ratchet can check it out after we win this thing. I'll live." He looked around quizzically and was about to ask something, but Mikaela beat him to it.

"Where's Riku?" she asked, looking around as well. She spotted me tearing up a little and brought me in for a small but meaningful hug.

"In a better place," I informed confidently, squeezing tightly before releasing.

Jazz and Ratchet sped by us, currently being pelted by a tank, and I transformed to try and catch up.

"We got this, Nova! Stay with Bee!" Jazz hollered. Listening to his instructions, I turned and quickly tended to my brother, sealing the leaking energon lines. Mikaela ran off to who knows where while Bumblebee handed the All Spark to Sam.

"What? Why are you giving this to me?" the boy asked defensively. Quickly, he threw the All Spark at me. I, quite obviously, was not prepared for him to do so. It came a little too close to my spark chamber and attached itself to me like a leech on a human's foot. My optics widened for the small moment when I realized what he had done.

The pain was unbelievable. I screeched to a piercing decibel as the All Spark latched into me, sucking my energy for its own purposes. I felt every vein in my body wrench out of its spot, pulling towards the pure power source burning my very core. The most unsettling experience was feeling every little mechanism inside of me overload and explode.

"Take… it… OUT!" I barely managed to grit out. Bumblebee whirred madly, gesturing for Sam to do it because if Bee did it, he would be in as much pain as I was. I was slowly starting to fade away, blackness engulfing me. For a split second, the feeling was almost serene, the thought of never having to fight anymore. If I died, I wouldn't need to be strong. Granted, I'd be a coward, but I'd be far away from pains like this.

Just then, I felt a small pair of hands struggle to yank it right out of me. The cold, crisp air of reality struck me across the face as I stumbled into Bumblebee's grip. My cooling fans began working overtime, desperately trying to keep me alive. Never mind, I liked being alive.

"Don't… ever… do that… again," I panted out heavily. He nodded shakily as Bee scanned me. The attempt of trying to help me was sweet but I doubted Bumblebee knew what he was doing. Either way, he helped me stand up and guided my body as I shifted down into a human being, albeit choppily. I lost balance once more and found that it was Sam who caught me that time. He placed me gently next to Bumblebee. From here, we witness Ratchet, Jazz, and Ironhide take down the tank. But something was wrong. They don't look relieved. They ran back towards us… with Megatron on their tails.

He shot at Jazz who jumped back a few feet in the air.

"No!" I exclaimed, standing up and trying to help. Apparently, I stood too fast and a wave of bad-balance hit me, making me fall right back down. Mikaela finally decided to join us, pulling up in a tow truck. She told us to help her with something.

"We can wrap him up here, and then I'll be able to drive him around," she explained. I finally had the power to get up and help direct Bee onto the truck as they tied the cord around him.

"Sam! Where's the cube?" Lennox asked as something started firing at us again.

"Right here," I answered for him, picking it up and handing it to Lennox.

"Okay, I can't leave my guys back there so here, take this flare," he said, handing both the flare and All Spark to Sam. Instantly, the boy started protesting against this. "There's a white building with statues on the top over there. Go to the roof, set the flare—"

"No, no, no, I can't do this!" Sam tried, pushing the items back into the soldier's hands.

"Listen to me! You're a soldier now!" He grabbed Sam by the collar. "You need you to take this cube and get it into military hands or a lot of people are going to die."

"Sam, it's okay. I've got your back," I comforted him, giving Lennox an affirmative smile because that was the same thing he promised me. "I'll watch your six, all right? You've got a three-story robot protecting you, don't worry. Mikaela will take care of Bee."

Ratchet and Ironhide step up to us, promising even more security.

"See, now you have those two as well," I said, patting him firmly on the back.

Before we had the chance to leave, Mikaela stopped us and stepped up to Sam, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"No matter what happens, I'm really glad I got in that car with you," she hummed. He looked at her, not making a move, which I was really hoping he would do. Unfortunately, time was of the essence.

"Sam, let's go! We need to get to the building now! Make out with her after we win!" I blurted out. Sam didn't waste a moment although, as we were running, I could see him turn a bright shade of red. But that could have just been from the running.

The 'Cons were shooting at us but Ratchet and Ironhide managed to keep them off of us. Out of the corner of my vision, I can see Optimus finally arriving. He found Megatron and started battling it out right away. I tried not to focus on them because, by the looks of it, Megatron was winning.

"Guys, keep moving!" Ironhide yelled as we ran passed a taxi that was being sliced and almost thrown against us. Starscream appeared in front of us, resulting in me tackling Sam to the ground, out of the way. We're lucky the 'Con didn't see us.

I picked Sam up, and we began to sprint once more, trying our best to ignore the Decepticon behind us. Ratchet and Ironhide were taking care of that problem.

"Give me the cube, boy!" a rough voice called from behind. Great, Megatron finally found Sam.

"Don't look back! Keep running!" I relayed, though he ignored me. Sam took a peek backwards and managed to bump into a car which made him fall and activate the cube a little. It disabled me for a while and I dropped limply onto my face. Every electronic device that was affected turned into a primitive Cybertronian. Perfect, Sam's a mother. "Just go! I'll catch up!" I yelled to him, straining to stand.

He nodded and entered a building with Megatron close behind. I finally regained control of myself and dashed towards the direction Sam went. He was already halfway to the top when I spotted him. Leaving a considerate distance between us, I followed him through the roof.

The flare was lit and the helicopter was there, ready for the package. That's also when I spotted Megatron on the adjacent building. I hid behind the corner, getting ready to strike when necessary. The cube was almost in the hands of the man in the helicopter when Megatron maliciously shot it down. He chased the poor human across the roof until Sam magically ended up on the edge of the statue. Megatron landed next to him with a smug look on his face.

"Is it fear or courage that compels you, fleshing?" he spoke with a creaky voice, inching closer to Sam. "Give me the All Spark and you may live to be my pet."

"I'm never giving you the All Spark!" Sam affirmed from the top of his lungs.

"So unwise," Megatron hummed deviously. That's when I finally came out of my hiding place, transforming and tackling him off the building. But not before he blasted Sam to the ground.

As we fall, he locks my arms in. Surprisingly, he doesn't do a thing to harm me. In fact… No, I was just thinking things. There's no way Megatron, the leader of all evil, could be helping me. But, the way he glanced at me, even if it was for an astrosecond, something was different.

I detached from him once reality finally came back to me. My servos gripped the buildings in order to slow down my fall. I barely caught a glimpse of Optimus holding Sam and the All Spark as the chips of bricks and furniture pieces clouded my sight.

"If I cannot defeat Megatron," I heard Optimus say to Sam once we crashed to the ground, "you must push the cube into my chest. I will sacrifice myself to destroy it."

He couldn't be serious! I don't care how impossible this battle seems right now, he can't die for us! "What?" I yelped, snapping my helm towards the mech. "No, you can't—!" I was about to argue his resolution but a blast from behind sent me flying a couple feet, thrown away like an old ragdoll.

"At the end of the day, one shall stand, one shall fall," Optimus stated bravely, ripping his distraught gaze from me. Just when I thought he would start out strong, Megatron rushed him and caught our leader in a headlock.

"You still fight for the weak. That is why you lose!" he rebutted, shoving Optimus to the ground. As Optimus tried to crawl to his feet, Megatron kicked him out of the way.

I was useless just standing there, slowly losing consciousness. No matter how hard I tried to fight the lull of stasis lock, I just couldn't. The nanites in my system insisted I shut down, but my stubborn CPU said I had to get up and help.

The two leaders continued to fight, a couple jets assisting my mech. As I crawled onto my forearms, I caught sight of Sam amidst the hustle and bustle. He held tight to the cube, scooting away from the large appendages stomping over him.

Every explosion, every scrape of metal, every single ping of contact was muffled through my audios. Yet I went on, dragging my limp body over to Sam. He was yelling words at Optimus who was no doubt yelling back. I knew that the mech wanted Sam to shove the cube into his spark.

I knew that there was no way in Pit I was letting that happen.

"S-Sam!" I gurgled, energon clogging my intakes. "Thr-throw me the cube!" I wasn't aware if I was speaking words or not, but when I got up to my knees, he chucked it to me and it landed perfectly in my hand.

With the last ounce of power I had, I tackled Megatron, shoving the cube into his chest. I was so stupid. The pain he felt, I felt as well. The cube was taking his energy, sapping his strength, all the while it trapped me with him. We screamed in an eerie unison, the burning sensation deteriorating his spark and my arm. I felt that this would go on forever, and I just couldn't stand the pain anymore.

The black hue started engulfing me, and I welcomed it with open arms. I greeted the sweet kiss of stasis lock warmly. The last image burned into the back of my processor was Sam running over to my collapsed body, Optimus following behind.

* * *

><p><strong>(Third Person POV)<strong>

"Is… Is she dead?" Sam asked hesitantly, gliding over to the overheated femme. They've been through too much for her to die, it wasn't right.

"She will be fine. Currently, she is in what you humans refer to as a coma," Ratchet explained.

Optimus loomed over this mech that had caused their civilization such grief. How could one mech do such damage? How could his own brother do this to him?

"You left me no choice, brother," he hummed to himself, not ready to let the others know his ties with the leader of the Decepticons. A glimmer of light from Megatron's chest caught Optimus' attention. A sliver of the All Spark rested intact amongst the molten innards of his spark chamber.

Going back to Sam and kneeling before him, Optimus voiced his gratitude. "Sam, I owe you my life. We are in your debt."

The human in question gaped up in awe. To think, a being as great as Optimus Prime under his will. Maybe the idiot jocks at home would finally back off a little.

Optimus turned to the fallen femme, noticing her missing arm. From what he saw during the battle, her armor and ultimately her two layers of protoform were being disintegrated away by the raw power of the All Spark. He picked her up, delicate helm drooping and all, and thanked Primus that it was nothing more serious than that.

Bumblebee and Mikaela pulled into the gathering, sighing at the fact that all was calm once more. But when the yellow 'Bot caught sight of the hollow shell that was once his sister, he began to whir and click worriedly.

"She's okay," Ironhide affirmed as he walked towards the others. "But, Jazz… well… We couldn't save him."

"Aw, Jazz. We lost such a great comrade," Optimus relayed, placing Jazz into the category of lost allies. There were just so many that he learned to move on without them for Optimus was a Prime, and the others inevitably looked up to him on what to do. "But we are glad to have gained new ones. Thank you, all of you. You honor us with your bravery," he addressed to 'Bot and human alike.

"Nova will be so spark-torn when she finds out what happened," Ironhide muttered to Ratchet who could do nothing but agree.

Everyone was congratulating each other, clapping backs or ruffling up hair, in triumph of one more victory.

* * *

><p><em>Yay! Autobots win… for now. Eheheh one last chapter before it ends *sniffle*<em>

_**~Don't be a stranger ;D**_


	14. Chapter 14

_Yes, this is the last chapter of this story. I had a lot of fun with this first story and I got a better response than what I was expecting. Thank you all for being your deliciously, amazing selves!_

_**Alter Ego#2:**__ Awww! It's ending? Already?_

_**Alter Ego:**__ Don't worry, we're alter egos. She has to take us to the new story whether she likes it or not._

_**Alter Ego#3:**__ WHAT?_

_**Me:**__ Gee, I love you to #3. Anyway, this is just an aftermath of what happened. Yes there will be small traces of gushy, lovey fluff, but if this were real life, it would happen. __**Also, if this were real life, I would own it. But sadly I don't :(**_

* * *

><p>I woke up to find myself in a place that I wasn't familiar with. The room was small, off-white, and had drawn shades. I was lying on a soft, cool bed, a gentle, down comforter caressing my legs. Blinking the sleep away, I tried to sit up but a couple wires connected to my hand were refusing to let me do that smoothly. I followed the wire and see that it led to a heart monitor.<p>

"Where the frag am I?" I muttered, resting my head back down.

"Good morning, dearest," I heard whispered next to me. A male, a very familiar male, sat next to me and placed a strand of my hair away from my face. He slowly turned off the machine and freed my hands of their prison.

"Hmm, where have I seen you before," I kidded, reaching out to make sure this was real. "What happened?" I asked, hearing the creakiness of my voice. My body was throbbing and felt worn out. So much so that Optimus had to help me sit up.

"You helped defeat the Decepticons by sacrificing your arm and now we are awaiting our fates on Earth," he answered with a warm smile.

"Really? I don't remember," I replied with a short laugh, looking at my arm. I couldn't believe for a second that this was detached from me.

"Ratchet informed me that you most likely would not." A small hint of a frown sprinkled across his lips. "You should dress up, I will tell you more."

"Mmm, or I could stay here and you can fill me in later," I hummed, placing soft kisses onto his neck. He maneuvered my face so that he was the one applying the gesture. My head was thrown back and I giggled softly while he deliberately tried to tickle me.

"So, where exactly are we?" I asked once Optimus let go of me.

"I will explain later," he reiterated, pulling me off the bed. "I have placed your clothes in the bathroom. It is that door over there." I floated over to a wooden door not too far from the bed. "Do not take too long, there are a few friends waiting for you," he called as I entered a relatively large room.

It had a circular tub and a glass shower placed upon the sandy beige tile. I peeled off my clothes which I notice are different from the ones I had before. I was just wearing a simple, white tank-top and dark-gray sweatpants.

I quickly popped into the shower, washing the grime of the world away. I didn't feel like trans-scanning a magazine or picture because if I did, something told me that I wouldn't feel as clean. It must've been from the battle.

As I stepped out of the shower, I grabbed a towel and vigorously rub my hair, letting it air dry afterwards. Spying the clothes set aside for me, I put them on, finding they fit me perfectly. There were lacey, dark-purple undergarments which bore a striking resemblance to my red ones. Apparently, a certain Prime has come to like them.

That thought made me chuckle softly.

I donned a thin, puffy, lavender shirt along with a silk, tie-dye skirt that wrapped around my legs, stopping mid-thigh.

Slowly opening the door as if not to disturb the serenity around me, I spied Optimus by the door waiting for me.

"Shall we?" he asked, holding out an arm.

"We shall," I responded, taking his offering. We took a step out and my glorified sandal-protected foot greeted a sand covered path. The ocean was practically right at our doorstep. A tinge of salt graced my nose lightly, making me gasp as I took it all in. "Where are we?"

"We are located on a private island located off the coast of California," he answered, entranced by the smile on my face. "It will serve as our head quarters for the time being. I fear that we will be using this island more for recreation than for planning, but that is an issue that does not need tending to at the moment."

He took me to a small building that was just above the coast line. It looked like a huge, glass gazebo. There were people inside, but I couldn't identify any of them.

"Go ahead," he pushed on, gesturing to the door. "They have been awaiting your awakening for a week."

"A week?" I repeated, turning towards him.

"You have been in stasis lock since our encounter in Mission City. Ratchet and I have been watching over you. He predicted that you would wake up by now. Enter," he pressed.

But where _is_ Ratchet, I wanted to ask. I decided to do so later. Whoever were in this room are pretty patient people considering that I'm a week late to this party. Opening the door slowly, I'm greeted by a large amount of clapping. This place looked like a giant living room and everyone was treating it as such.

"Good to see you!" William Lennox cheered, giving me a hug. "I'd like to introduce you to a few special ladies I know. This lovely woman is my wife, Sarah. And this little lady is my daughter, Annabelle," he said, bringing up a beautiful woman and a jovial looking child.

"Hello," I nodded politely, waving to the little girl who gurgled at me.

"Took you long enough, girl," Epps said as he hugged me as well. I barely had time to acknowledge him before a random person zoomed from who knows where and almost knocked me down from the force of his hug. It's a young man with dirty blonde hair, around my height. He could easily be eighteen, maybe seventeen.

"Um, nice to meet you?" I said, awkwardly patting his back as his arms squeezed me tight enough to kill me. I may not know this kid but I can tell that he really missed me, maybe even loved me.

"Bumblebee," Optimus started, loosening this human's grip on me, "she is still recovering. Please be gentle."

"Bumblebee?" I repeated, finding it odd to be calling this boy that name. Nevertheless, I looked at this "Bumblebee," judging his worthiness to hold that name. Starring into his eyes, I saw a crisp, bright, baby-blue glow emanating from its pure light.

"Oh, Honeybee, it _is_ you!" I exclaimed, returning his hug. He nodded to further affirm this statement. "Your voice is still out?"

"It was working a while ago. I guess it's just acting up," a tall man with light brown hair commented. His definable, blue eyes were outlined with the barest shade of green. It was magnified perfectly through his thin, rectangular glasses.

"Ratchet?" I guessed. He nodded in reply.

"Do you remember anything?"

"Everything but this crazy battle we apparently had," I responded with a shrug.

"It will come to you," he sighed.

A muscular figure stepped up behind him with a build almost identical to Optimus', but this man was slightly shorter. He had pitch-black hair and pure, blue eyes. The right one was marred by a battle scar, probably more of a trophy than a blemish no doubt. He gave me a small smile, almost a smug kind of look.

"Oh, this can't be Ironhide, you look too good," I said with a short laugh.

"You just admitted that I look good, femme," he laughed back. I gave him a hug that caught the rough and tough mech off guard, though he really should be getting used to it. Regardless, he returned this hug for once.

"Aw," Ratchet cooed, mocking Ironhide.

"Shove a wrench up your aft," he returned, slowly releasing me.

"Ratch, don't be like that. I just came back from a coma, try not to ruin life for me," I said, giving him a playful push. Looking around, I notice something missing. Or more specifically, someone. "Optimus, which one is Jazz?" I asked innocently, waiting patiently for my best friend to rush by my side and laugh with me like he used to.

"N-Nova, I… I am unsure of how to put this delicately but… Jazz… isn't with us," he relayed slowly, watching the emotions settle on my face.

My spark dropped. It dropped to the lowest pit in my body. After it dropped there, it fell further, dragging me down with it. I've seen death. I've watched it happen in my own hands. But never have I ever witnessed the death of a friend this close. If there was anyone I knew more than Jazz, it would be Bumblebee but only because he was my brother. Jazz… he too was my brother. I don't care what anybody else says, that mech—frag it, this squad, even—was more of a family to me than the entire Autobot cavalries combined.

I bit my lip to stop the pain from overflowing to my exterior emotions. Tears almost pushed past the barriers of my tear ducts as a whimpering shudder ran through me. A small, light hand placed itself on my shoulder and I see that Mikaela came up to me.

"Hey, at least you still have us," she comforted with a smile.

"I told him karma would catch up," I explained through fake contentedness.

"Don't worry about that too much. All we can do now is just go on," Sam told me, walking behind Mikaela and holding her hand.

* * *

><p>The sun was setting. Ratchet and Bumblebee were starting a bonfire as the others gathered some chairs for all to sit upon. Sarah and Annabelle weren't the only civilians allowed to visit; the other soldiers' families came as well. I was told that none of them knew of our secret, that the only information the civilians knew were that we were a squad lost somewhere in the depths of Africa. The children were grouped together in the sand while the mothers talked amongst themselves, oblivious to the extraterrestrials sharing their world.<p>

Optimus and I walked barefoot on the sand, letting the chilly water kiss our feet. We had a small game of twenty questions going. But it was more like I ask about a million and a half questions and he answers them all.

"Really? _I _plunged the cube into his spark?" He gave me an almost pained nod. "Wow," I whispered, not knowing that I had that kind of bravery. "What happened after that?"

"We cleaned up the mess we caused and traveled here. I sent a message if allies ever happen to hear it. I told them to come to Earth and help us protect our new charges, the humans. The other soldiers decided to send a care package to Riku's family seeing how we know you would have wanted that. And Ratchet has perfected the holoform program, as you can see," he explained, not missing a beat.

"All right, so what about this island?" I asked playfully.

"I thought you might appreciate this after all the turmoil you have experienced lately. I apologize for sending you into something like that so blind."

"Hey, don't think about that. I'm glad I went through this. It gave me a new perspective. So, thank you… for everything," I told him, stopping our stride and smiling up at him, memorizing every detail of his face before I connected with him in a kiss.

"You know," I mumbled past our lips, "we've been on this beach for an entire day now, and we haven't even gone into the water." An evil smirk spread across my face, and before he could react, I hopped back and splashed the cool, salty water at him.

He smiled and chased me deeper into the waves, kicking water back. My squeals of laughter only increased the passion of the hunt as we continued to soak each other. Once we entered shin-deep water, he picked me up, not stopping in his stride to the middle of the sea.

"No, Optimus, put me down!" I giggled, squirming in his grasp.

"As you wish, dearest," he said, dropping me into deeper waters. I resurfaced with the look of death on my face. His optics widened as he backed up, with me chasing him. With a lunge, I caught him from behind, making him stumble into the water.

"That's what you get for soaking my new clothes," I chirped with a doll-like smile.

"Is that so? So what do you get for tackling me into the water?" he asked, wearing a mischievous grin.

"Um, how about a truce?" I giggled nervously, letting him pick me up in the now mid-torso level water. My arms and legs instinctively wrap around him like an octopus and its pirate treasure.

"Perhaps. If this is what you mean by a truce," he mumbled deeply into my ear, kissing until he reached my mouth. It was slow and innocent, just a gesture of what we've been through and what we'll go through.

"Hey! Will you two stop making out for one second and get over here! The bonfire is almost ready, and we need someone to get the weenies," Robert Epps rudely interrupted. Even without Jazz with us, he made a defiant statement by giving Epps the responsibility of ruining the mood.

"Killjoy!" I yelled in response, unaware of the dark hue of the sky. Apparently we've been out longer than I thought.

Optimus carried me out to shore, placing me onto the sand gently.

"We should do this more often," I laughed, pulling him around me for warmth.

"Same time tomorrow?"

"Maybe earlier," I kidded, leaving him there to run inside and change out of my sopping clothes. I didn't waste a second, knowing that he's waiting for me out there. My clothes made a loud flopping noise as I hastily stripped them off. I grabbed the first thing I saw which just happened to be a normal hoodie and a plain pair of shorts.

I walked outside, my optics meeting the bright fire which lit our party. Optimus was conversing with Ironhide at the edge of the crowd. An old saying came to the front of my mind. Primes don't party. Whoever coined that phrase deserved a fragging award for accuracy.

I grabbed a seat near the fire and a bright-yellow Camaro pulled up with Bumblebee driving it.

"Any song requests?" he asked us hoarsely.

"Only if someone sings!" Sarah yelled from her little group of women. They all giggled at her comment.

"Sarah, why don't you sing?" I offered with a small chuckle.

She started shaking her head immediately. "No, no, I'm not much of a singer," she confided, backing up a little.

"Believe me, she's not," Lennox whispered next to me. "Hey, how about _you _sing?" he asked obnoxiously loud so that everyone could hear.

"I really hate you right now," I growled, making an extreme pouty face. In the next second, I felt a heavy blanket wrap around my shoulders and see Optimus sitting down in the chair next to me.

"Why not? I have yet to hear you sing," he said calmly.

"What? Who? Me?" I asked disbelievingly.

"Oh, don't play innocent. I've heard you sing before, it's beautiful," Ratchet said, heaving a chunk of wood into the fire. Optimus bumped me with his shoulder with the most adorable look on his face.

"Please, for me?" How the Pit could I say no?

"Yeah! Come on, Nova!" Epps yelled while passing around a few weenies and sticks to everyone. Suddenly, he started chanting "Do it! Do it!" with everyone joining along.

"Fine, fine, fine! I'll sing! If—only if—Robby sings with me," I laughed out, giving Epps a devilish look.

"You know what? I will! You ain't got nothing on me, girl," he taunted, obviously bringing out his A game.

"All right, then. Honeybee, surprise me," I told him, watching the holoform reach into the car and turn on the radio to a very loud volume. The song becomes recognizable to me in an instant.

"Be careful with this song," he warned, pointing a finger at me.

"Gee, thanks, bro," I muttered sarcastically as the song began to play. Epps started it off.

_I'm saying my chick bad_  
><em>My chick hood<em>  
><em>My chick do stuff that your chick wish she could<em>  
><em>My chick bad, badder than yours <em>  
><em>My chick do stuff that I can't even put in words<em>

He started walking towards me, picking me up and coaxing me out of this shell that I have placed upon myself. Epps started rapping circles around me, and I have no choice but to follow his lead.

_Her swagger don't stop_  
><em>Her body won't quit<em>  
><em>So fool pipe down you ain't talking 'bout it<em>  
><em>My chick bad, tell me if you seen her<em>  
><em>She always bring the racket like Venus and Serena<em>

The human acted out the words he sang and I silently prayed to Primus that Optimus wouldn't blow a gasket.

_All white top, all white belt_  
><em>And all white jeans, body looking like milk<em>  
><em>No time for games, she's full grown<em>  
><em>My chick bad, tell your chick to go home<em>

He then grabbed me by the waist and directed the next verse to all the other men.

_Now your girl might be sick but my girl sicker_  
><em>She rides that stick and she handles her liquor<em>  
><em>She knock a girl out a-a-and fights<em>  
><em>Coming out swinging like Tiger Woods wife<em>  
><em>Yeah she could get a little hasty<br>Chicks better cover up their chests like pasty's_  
><em>Couple girl friends and they all a little crazy<em>  
><em>Coming down the street like a parade, Macy's<em>  
><em>I fill her up, balloons<em>  
><em>Test her, and guns get drawn like cartoons<em>

He winked at me when he said that.

_Doh, but I ain't talking 'bout Homer_  
><em>Chick so bad the whole crew wanna bone her<em>

I was a little shocked by that last line, but he turned to me and whispered in my ear, "That's an actual fact, you better stay close to your man." I giggled and wiggled out of his grip as my verse comes on. If I was going to do this, frag it, I'm going to do this right.

_Yo, now all these honeys wanna try and be my besty_  
><em>But I take a left and leave them hanging like a testi'<em>  
><em>Trash talk to 'em then I put 'em in a Hefty<em>  
><em>Running down the court I'm dunking on 'em Lisa Leslie<em>

I saw the woman who raps this and decided to act like her. She seemed to have such a bubbly personality.

_It's going down, basement, Friday the 13th  
>Guess who's playing Jason<em>  
><em>Tuck yourself in, you better hold on to your teddy<em>  
><em>It's Nightmare on Elm street and guess who's playing Freddy<em>

I chuckled evilly after that part just to add to the creepy effect.

_Chef cooking for me  
>They say my shoe game crazy<em>  
><em>The mental Asylum looking for me<em>  
><em>You a rookie to me<br>I'm in that wham, bam, purple Lamb', glam-glitch, you been a fan_

The crowd does the stereotypical "O-o-oh" as I delivered the last line. Epps and I don't bother to finish the song because it gets pretty repetitive from there. I gave the man a small, side hug and hopped back to my place next to Optimus.

"Well, it seems that you had fun," he stated with a smirk.

"That was just rapping, wait until you hear me sing," I joked.

The rest of the night was just a bunch of others singing their songs. Bumblebee didn't mind, in fact, he was thoroughly enjoying himself. We stayed up pretty late, laughing and living in the moment.

Optimus and I managed to sneak away, ending up in a small cave. He leant against the wall with me leaning on him. We were just talking as he fiddled with my hair, truly fascinated by its complexities and simplicities.

"So, Prime," I started a bit awkwardly. There was a question on my mind that I was just dying to ask. "Considering the fact that you're the _last_ known Prime, obviously, that means you're going to need… descendants. You know, so that there will be others to help bring peace and whatnot." Although I couldn't see his face, I knew he was looking at me, taking in my remark.

"Well, that is a reasonable statement. It is only right to have sparklings after a certain amount of time. Of course, there would need to be the marking, bonding, conceiving," he said, just as awkwardly. Optimus did a fragging great job of keeping his comments neutral. I didn't know where to take this conversation and neither did he.

"Oh, of course, but then this sparkmate would help you. If you could find someone who is brave, determined, and respectable," I said, letting him catch my drift.

"That would be a difficult task. I mean, there is only one femme in the entire universe who has perfected all those characteristics and has managed to be well grounded. Not to mention, she is strikingly alluring as well," he responded, laying down the cheese.

"I wonder who that lucky lady could be," I sighed, pretending to be ignorant of the obvious.

"I think I may have a clue."

My optics brightened a bit from his subtle statement of us having a potential future together. I turned my head upwards to look at him, and he greeted me with a gentle lip-lock.

At some point, the kids got tired, and the fire died down, so we all headed back to our rooms. I silently watched as everyone separated into their small groups, dragging either sleeping children or knocked out spouses to their suites.

Optimus ended up carrying me back because I didn't want to track so much sand into our room. When we entered the glossy, wooden door, he gently put me down and got into our bed.

"Are you sleeping here? Won't you run out of battery or something?" I asked as I travelled straight to the bathroom and began my nightly routine.

"The holoform does not necessarily work like that. If I recharge in this form, only a small amount of my energy will be siphoned," he answered calmly. I heard the television click on to a soft, music channel. The volume was set on low.

Peeking my head out, I saw Optimus wave me over.

"It would be wise not to keep me waiting," he commented with a soft chuckle.

"I guess a week is a long enough wait," I shrugged, gliding over to curl up next to him, letting his warmth overtake me.

"So tell me, how much debt do I still have to pay?" he asked, referring to the many vorns he's neglected me. I felt the rumbling from his throat as he spoke, especially because my head was right under his neck.

"Mmm, considering the fact that you convinced an alien government to give us a beautiful island—which I had a fantastic first day on, just to let you know… You have about six months left to catch up," I murmured with half-closed lids, tracing blunt circles on his chest.

"What can I do to repay that time a bit quicker?" he asked, playing with my hair.

"You could propose to that alluring femme you were talking about earlier." I stopped my sentence there and maneuvered around until I was kneeling around him. Gazing deeply into his optics, I dipped in for a lingering kiss. "Or you can help me experiment with something," I mumbled. Scrapping my nails softly down his chest, I whispered onto his lips, "Have you ever heard of… human pleasure?"

He responded by tracing a hand up my inner thigh.

* * *

><p><strong>(Third Person POV)<strong>

"You think we should tell them the rooms aren't sound proof?" Ironhide asked Ratchet as they passed by Nova's room, carrying some beach chairs to put them back in their rightful place.

"You want to tell them now?" Ratchet asked loudly, almost dropping a chair. Ironhide hesitated a little before answering.

"N-no, that'd be—ahem—creepy." He looked away, hiding his embarrassment.

"What is wrong with you?" Ratchet shook his head disapprovingly.

* * *

><p><em>Ah, a wonderful end to a story, sorta. <em>_I got the mega-blushies in that last couple parts, heheh.__ I hope you enjoyed! I love you all! I'm serious O_o_

_The other stories are in the process of being rewritten as well to match this story so they should still make sense but not much. They also may be a little bit worse than this story since I consider this and the last half of Rehab as my better stories._

_P.S. __**DarkAngelMel2:**__ Hun, me thinks we will get along just fine. You are giving me ideas like no tomorrow. Not to mention that you shall be surprised in multiple ways in future stories (if you read them of course *wink-wink*) Thanks for your constructiveness!_

_**~Don't be a stranger ;D**_


End file.
